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'  J-J 


C  Y  M  M  îl  0  D  0  R, 

embodyií:..  the 


TRANfoACTIONS 

OF  THE  HONOUBABLE 

SOCIETY    OF    CYMMRODOEION 

OF    LOXDOX, 

ETC. 


EDITED  BY 

THOMAS    POWELL,    M.A  (Oxon.) 


^^>% 


03J 


>^ 


PRINTED   FOR  THE   SOCIETY 

BY 

T.  rJCHAllDS,  37,  GEEAT   QUEEN   STREET,  W.C. 

1881. 


/ 


g   (fTsmmroíior,   1881, 


CONTENTS     OF     VOL.     IV. 


Observations  on  the  Pronunciation  of  tlie  Sassarese  Dialect  of  Sar- 
dinia,  and  on  yarious  Points  of  Resemblance  wliicli  it  presents 
with   the   Celtic    Languages.     By   H.LH.   Prince    Louis- 

LüCIEX   BONAPARTE  -  ....  1 

Welsh  Books  Printed  Abroad  in  the  Sixteeuth  and  Seventeenth 

Centuries,  and  their  Authors.     By  H.  W.  Lloyd,  M.A.         -       25 

Welsh  Anthropology.     By  F.  W.  Rudler,  F.G.S.  -  -       70 

The  Present  and  Future  of  Wales.     By  Lewis  Morris,  M.A.     -       90 

Merched  y  tŷ  Talwyn.     By  the  Rev.  W.  Watkins,  M.A.  -     lol 

A  Description  of  the  Day  of  Judgment.     With  Translation  aud 

Notes  by  the  Editor  -  -  -  -  -  -     106 

The  Celtic  Languages  in  Relation  to  other  Aryan  Tongues.     By 

the  Rev.  John  Dayies,  M.A.  ....     139 

The  Eisteddfodau  of  1880  -  -  -  -  -     143 

Reviews  of  Books: — 

Y  Mabiuogion  Cymreig        -  -  -  -  -     150 

Cydymaith  y  Cymro  :    neu  Lawlyfr  i'r  Gymraeg.     Gan  y 
Parch  E.  T.  Dayies,  B.A.  -  .  .  .     152 

Notes   of  a  Tour  in  Brittany.     By  S.   Prideaux    Tre- 

GELLES,  LL.D.     ---...     152 

The  Rebecca  Rioter :    A  Story  of  Rillay  Life.     By  E.  A. 
Dillwyn  ---...     154 

The  Folk-]ore  of  Wales     -  -  -  -  -  -     155 

Notes  and  Queries  --..-..     159 

Notices        -  -  -  .  .  .  .  .IGI 


IV  CONTENTS. 

Welsh  Fairy  Tales.     By  Professor  Rhys  -  -  -     163 

A  Celtic-Slavonic  Suffix.     By  M.  H.  Gaidoz       -  -  -    217 

A  Cywydd  to  Sir  Edward  Stradling  and  Dr.  Jolm  David  Rhys 

upou  the  publication  of  the  latter's  Welsh  Grammar  -  -     221 

A  Historical  Poem  by  lolo  Goch.     By  H.  W.  Lloyd,  M.A.  -     225 

The  National  Eisteddfod  of  1881  -  -  -  -  -    233 

Reviews  of  Books : — 

Who  are  the  Welsh?     By  James  Bonwick,  F.R.G.S.      -     2-42 

St,  Paul  in  Britain,  or  the  Origin  of  British  as  opposed  to 
Papal  Christianity.     By  the  Rev.  R.  W.  Morgan  -     244 

Glossae  Hibernicae  e  codicibus  Wirziburgensi  Carolisruhen- 
sibus  aliis  adjuvante  Academiae  Regiae  Berolinensis 
liberalitate  edidit  Heinricus  Zimmer        -  -  -     245 

The  History  of  the  Princes,  the  Lords  Marcher,  and  the 
Ancient  Nobility  of  Powys  Fadog,  and  the  Ancient 
Lords  of  Arwystli,  Cedewen,  and  Meirionydd.  By  J.  Y. 
W.  Lloyd  of  Clochfaen,  Esq.,  M.A.,  K.S.G.     Vol.  I     -     247 

Descriptive  Account  of  the  Incised  Slate  Tablet  and  other 
Remains  lately  discovered  at  Towyn.  With  plates.  By 
J.  Park  Harrison,  M.A.,  Üxon.,  etc.  -  -  -     248 

Caer  Pensauelcoit,  a  long  lost  Unromanised  British  Metro- 
poUs  :  A  Reassertion,     With  a  Sketch  Map        -  -     249 

The  Folk-lore  of  Wales— Riddles.     Yerbal  Tasks  -  -     250 


^   Cymmrotíor* 


JA  NUARY    188  1. 


OBSERYATIONS  ON  THE  PRONUNCIATION 

OF   THE   SASSARESE   DIALECT   OF 

SARDINIA, 

AXD  ON  YARIOUS  POINTS  OF  RESEMBLAXCE  WHICH  IT  PRESENTS 
WITH  THE  CELTIC  LANGUAGES. 

By  ÍI.I.H.  PRINCE  LOUIS  LUCIEN  BONAPARTE.i 


Haying  made  a  prolonged  stiidy  of  the  singular  pronuncia- 
tion  of  this  important  dialect,  I  venture  to  assort  that  it 
involves  at  least  thirty-seven  simple  sounds.  In  the  ortho- 
graphy  followed  by  Canon  Spano,  in  his  version  of  St.  Mat- 
thew's  Gospel,  these  are  represented  by  thirty-five  characters, 
whether  simple,  as  c,  d,  etc,  or  compound, — ^genuine  digrams 
— such  as  ch,  gli,  gn,  and  the  like. 

In  entering  on  a  discussion  of  these  characters,  I  must  say 
at  the  outset  that  they  are,  unfortunately,  by  no  nieans  in 
harmony  with  the  number  of  the  sounds ;  or  even,  in  some 
instances,  with  their  nature.  Thus  dd,  by  way  of  example, 
seems  but  ill-adapted  to  give  us  a  clear  idea  either  of  the 
palatal  d,  unknown  to  classical  Italian,  or  of  the  strong  d, 
which  is  incorrectly  spoken  of  as  a  double  letter,  in  the  same 

'  The  following  obseryations  were  printed  in  Italian  in  the  year 
18C0,  accompanying  a  version  of  St.  Mattbew's  Gospel  into  Sassarese 
by  the  Rev.  Canon  Spano.  The  present  translation  has  been  made 
from  a  revised  copy  of  the  original  issue,  at  the  instance  of  the  iUas- 
trious  author,  by  ])r.  Isambard  Owen. 

VOL.  IV.  B 


2  THE   PRONUNCIATION    OF   THE   SASSARESE 

way  as  that  term  is  improperly  applied  to  tbe  otlier  digrams 
of  the  Italian  language,  Ih,  ff,  II,  etc. 

That  our  ears  perceive  no  reduplication  in  the  case  of  these 
so-called  double  letters  when  they  are  spohen  correctly,  was 
said,  and  not  merely  said,  but  proved,  by  that  acute  author, 
Lionardo  Salviati,  (^)  nearly  three  centuries  ago.  Such  sounds 
should  accordingly  be  regarded  as  additional  modifications, 
strong,  but  nevertheless  simple,  of  the  other  sounds  usually  (-) 
represented  by  single  consonants,  and  tlius  augraent  their 
number. 

The  thirty-five  characters  are  the  folowing: — a,  b,  c,  ch, 
ci,  cl,  dd,  e,f,  g,  gh,  gi,  gl,  gli,  gn,  h,  i,  j,  l,  m,  n,  o,  ^),  q,  r,  s,  sc, 
sci,  sg,  sgi,  t,  u,  v,  z,  zz ;  and  the  thirty-seven  sounds  : — 


1.  o 

14. 

i 

27. 

P 

2.  h 

15. 

j 

28. 

r 

3.  c  hard. 

16. 

l 

29. 

s  yoiceless. 

4.  c  sibilant 

17. 

l  Yoiceless  guttural. 

30. 

s  Yoiced. 

5.  d 

18. 

l  Yoiced  guttural. 

31. 

sc  sibilant. 

6.  d  palatal. 

19. 

l  Yoiceless  dental. 

32. 

sg  (Frenchy) 

7.  e  open. 

20. 

l  Yoiced  dental. 

33. 

t 

8.  e  closed. 

21. 

l  sibilant. 

34. 

u 

9./ 

22. 

m 

35. 

V 

10.  g  hard. 

23. 

n 

36. 

z  Yoiceless. 

11.  g  sibilant. 

24. 

n  guttural. 

37. 

z  Yoiced. 

12.  gl  liquid. 

25. 

0  open. 

13.  gn 

26. 

0  closed. 

EXAMINATION   OF   THE    ChAEACTERS   AND    OF   THE   SoUNDS 
REPRESENTED    BY   THEM. 

1.  a. — Is  pronounced  as  in  Italian. 

2.  h. — When,  as  in  Italian,  it  should  take  the  sound 
of  hh  (see  Note  2),  it  is  pronounced  precisely  as  in  that 
language ;  but  when  the  weak  modification  is  required,  the 
Sassarese  pronunciation  of  this  letter  seems  to  nie  of  a 
Spanish  character ;  that  is  to  say,  less  labial  than  the  Tuscan  h, 
the  lips  being  approximated  without  actually  touching.   Thus 


DTALF.CT    OF   SARDINIA.  3 

wheii  T  got  a  native  of  Sassari  to  repeat  sereral  times  over 
tlie  words  "  bozi",  vocc,  "a  bozi  manna",  ad  alta  voce,  '' la 
bozi",  la  voce,  "  dabboi",  dipoi,  I  invariably  heard  in  the 
fìrst,  second  and  fourth  examples,  tlie  strong  h,  incorrectly 
called  double,  of  the  Italian  language,  wliile  in  the  third  the 
sound  of  the  Spanish  h  appeared  to  nie  most  manifest. 

The  same  niay  be  said  of  initial  v,  when  by  the  influence 
of  the  preceding  word  it  lias  to  be  pronounced  as  h.  In  this 
case  also,  it  is  the  Spanish  h  that  is  heard.  Thus,  cun 
vinu;  lu  vi)iu; — the  former  is  pronounced  with  the  Italian 
V,  the  latter  with  a  weak  h,  but  a  h  of  Spanish  sound.  (See 
under  letter  v) . 

In  the  Logudorese  dialect,  as  the  Itev.  Canon  Spauo  observes 
in  his  Grammar,  initial  h,  in  circumstances  which  should  call 
for  its  weak  sound  (the  sound  that  is  of  h  single)  is  generally 
absorbed.  Thus,  "  unu  boe",  un  hue,  "  su  bentu",  il  vcnto,  are 
pronounced  wuw  oc,  su  entu,  while  "  sos  boes"  "  sos  ventos", 
i  huoi,  i  veiiti,  are  sounded  with  the  strong  h. 

In  the  languages  of  the  Gaelic  and  Welsh  families,  suppres- 
sion  of  the  initial  consonants  by  the  influence  of  the  pre- 
ceding  word  holds  a  very  frequent  place,  as  will  be  seen  fur- 
tlier  on. 

3.  c. — This  letter  is  pronounced  with  the  hard  sound  when 
standing  before  the  vowels  a,  o,  or  u,  or  before  any  conso- 
nant,  or  as  a  terminal  in  proper  names.  "  Cabà",  catare, 
"  cori",  cuore,  "  Criltu"  Cristo,  "  Sadoc",  are  pronounced,  as  far 
as  regards  c,  precisely  as  in  Italian,  as  long  as  the  strong 
form  of  that  letter  is  rec[uired  in  Sassarese.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  its  sound  is  weakened,  Sassarese  follows  the  practice  of 
Celtic  tongues,  and  changes  the  hard  c  into  an  equally  liard  g, 
Tlius  the  word  cori,  and  its  Welsh  equivalent  ccdon,  pro- 
nounced,  if  isolated,  witli  c,  are  transformed  into  (jori  iu 
spoken  Sassurese,  and  rjalon,  in  both  spohen  and  written 
Welsli,  when  the  preceding  words  possess  the  property  of 

b2 


4  THE    PliONUNCIATION   OF   THE   SASSARESE 

producing  tlie  initial  cliange  of  c  into  g,  aS,  for  instance,  in 
"  lu  do'  gori",  dy  galon. 

It  will  be  useful  to  note  here,  that  the  Latin  or  Italian 
hard  c,  which  is  mostly  found  in  the  middle  of  a  word  be- 
tween  two  vowels,  is  very  often  rendered  in  Sassarese  (never 
in  Tempiese)  by  gg;  i.e.,  by  a  hard  strong  g,  as  in  the  words 
poco,  dico,  fuoco,  whicli  in  Sassarese  are  written  and  spoken 
foggu,  diggu,  foggu,  in  Tempiese  ijocu,  dicii,  focu.  The 
same  exchange  of  the  voiceless  sound  for  the  voiced  occurs  in 
the  case  of  ^  and  t,  as  can  be  observed  in  the  Sassarese  words, 
"  cabbu",  "  daddu",  corresponding  to  the  Italian  capo,  dato, 
and  the  Tempiese  caim,  datu. 

C  takes  the  Italian  sibilant  sound  before  e  and  i,  as  in 
"  ceggu"  cieco.  In  the  Cagliaritan  dialect  only  this  sound  is 
susceptible  of  initial  mutation  in  pronunciation.  Celu,  in 
fact,  is  spoken  in  Cagliaritan  with  tlie  Italian  c  aspirate 
when  the  sound  of  tliat  letter  should  be  strong,  while  in 
"  su  celu"  il  cielo,  though  unseen  by  tlie  eye,  the  ear  dis- 
tinctly  perceives  sgelu,  with  the  French  j,  or  Cagliaritan  x. 

The  Italian  c  sibilant  is  very  often  rendered  in  Sassarese  by 
z,  as  well  in  pronunciation  as  iu  the  orthography  followed  in 
the  version  of  St.  Matthew.  The  Italian  words  cielo,  il  ciclo, 
pace,  croce,  luce,  corresponding  to  the  Tempiese  celi,  lu  ccli, 
paci,  griici,  luci,  appear  in  Sassarese  as  zelu,  lu  zelu,  pazi, 
crozi,  luzi,  a  strong  sound  being  given  to  the  z  in  the  first 
instauce,  a  weak  one  in  the  four  last.    (See  under  letter  z.) 

The  letter  c,  of  hard  sound,  when  preceded  by  l,  enjoys  the 
singular  property  of  transforming  both  that  sound  and  its 
own  into  the  German  gutteral  cí) ; — otherwise  the  Spanish  j, 
or,  if  preferred,  the  modern  Greek  x ;  as  heard  in  iiacf)t,  hijo, 
and  'xa\K6^,  but  not  as  in  nicí)t  and  %^'pa,  which  have  the  cí) 
and  X  palatalized.  Tlms  the  word  "  balca"  harca,  wiU 
be  pronounced  as  if  it  were  written  'ba^^f''-  (See  under 
letter  /.) 


DIALECT   OF   SAEDINIA.  5 

4.  ch. — This  digram  \n  Italian  represeuts  two  sounds. 
The  first  is  tliat  of  hard  c  before  e  and  i,  and  the  second  the 
palatalized  sonnd,  as  heard  in  the  plund  occhi,  written  by  many 
occhj  and  even  occhii.  This  sound,  which  the  rrench  would  call 
"  un  son  mouillé,"  and  which  modern  phoneticism  represents 
by  "  lc  ",  is  expressed  in  Italian,  before  any  other  vowel  tlian 
i,  by  chi,  as  iu  occhio,  vccchia,  recchie,  orecchiicto.  In  these 
words,  contrary  to  what  is  seen  in  the  plural  occhi,  the  i 
exists  only  as  a  phonetic  sign  forming  part  of  a  trigram. 
Neither  Sassarese  nor  Tempiese  possesses  the  sound  alluded 
to.  In  the  former  it  is  replaced  by  c  sibilant,  and  in  tlie 
latter  by  the  peculiar  souud  siii  generis,  which  is  treated  of 
in  the  remarts  prefixed  to  the  Tempiese  version  of  St. 
Matthew.  Thus  tlie  Italian  occJii  gives  place  to  the  Sassarese 
occi  and  the  Tempiese  oJcci. 

In  the  Sassarese  dialect  ch  raay  take  not  only  the  sound 
of  hard  c,  but  even  those  of  hard  g  and  ^,  in  the  circumstances 
which  rec|uire  c  to  assume  thera,  provided  the  vowels  e  and  i 
follow.  Thus  "  chedda"  {chita  in  Tempiese)  scttimana,  "  la 
chedda",  "  alclii"  archi,  "  molchi",  mosche,  are  sounded  chcclda, 
la  ghedda,  o-yyi,  mo^yi. 

5.  ci. — To  represent  the  c  sibilant  sound  before  the  vowels 
a,  0,  and  w,  in  Italian  is  adopted  the  digram  ci,  in  wdiich  tlie 
i  has  no  proper  sound  of  its  own,  but  merely  serves,  as  an 
inseparable  part  of  the  digram,to  express,  in  union  with  the  c, 
the  sounds  heard  in  the  words  hncia,  cacia,  cucio,  for  which 
in  ccnere  and  ciglio  the  c  alone  suffices.  The  same  use  is 
made  of  this  digram  in  Sassarese  and  Tempiese,  as  may  be 
readily  perceived  in  the  words  "  faccia"  and  "  cucciucciu", 
cagnolino,  of  the  former,  aud  in  "cioccia",  chioccia,  of  the  latter. 
In  Tempiese  the  peculiar  kci  sound  often  corresponds  with 
the  Italian  sibilant  cc  and  cci,  and  sometiraes  in  Sassarese 
the  rough  z ;  though  in  the  latter  dialect  cc  generally  survives 
unchanged.     Thus  huccia,  Italian  and  Sassarese,  is  huhcia  in 


6  TIIE   PRONUNCIATION   OF   TIiE    SASSAllESE 

Tempiese ;  and  zozza  in  Sassarese  corresponds  to  tlie  Italiaii 
chioccia. 

6.  d. — Has  always  the  Italian  pronunciation  in  Sassarese, 
at  least  unless  it  be  reduplicated  or  preceded  by  /.  In  tlie 
latter  case  it  lias  tlie  property  of  transforming  the  ordinary  1, 
and  itself  at  the  same  time,  into  the  voiced  dental  /,  which  will 
be  treated  of  further  on.  Supposing  therefore  that  -we  employ 
the  underdotted  character  "  1"  as  the  equivalent  of  the  sound 
alhided  to  in  all  places  where  it  is  to  be  heard,  the  words  found 
written  "caldu"  caldo,  "Lahlu"  /o?-í/o,  "ihlintiggaddu"  sdcntaio, 
will  have  to  be  pronounced  "  callu",  "  hillu'^  "  iUintiggaddu". 
This  sound,  a  recognised  one  in  the  Gaelic  dialect  of  the  Isle 
of  Man,  is  hnown  neither  to  Tempiese^  nor  to  Cagliaritan^ 
iior  even  to  Logudorese,  except,  as  Spano  tells  us,  in  some 
varieties  of  this  last  bordering  on  Sassarese  and  not  ad- 
mitted  into  the  common  literary  dialect  of  Logudoro.  (See 
imder  letter  l.) 

Although  in  the  Sassarese  dialect,  the  single  d  not  pre- 
ceded  by  l  never  has  other  than  the  Italian  pronunciation, 
it  will  be  well  to  recall  what  Spano  tells  us  of  the  pro- 
nunciation  of  the  singie  d  preceded  by  n  in  such  Logudorese 
■\vords  as  "  nde"  nc,  "  ando"  Tado,  "  cumandu"  comando, 
"  mundu"  onondo,  and  all  the  gerunds,  "  mandigande"  mcin- 
(jiando,  "  factende"  or  "  faghinde"  faccndo,  etc.  In  all  these 
"words  d  has  a  palatal  sound,  as  though  it  were  written  dd. 
(See  just  below  under  dd.)  Tbe  three  other  dialects  of 
Sardiuia  never  give  the  palatal  pronunciation  to  the  single  d. 

In  the  Logudorese  dialect  (see  Spano's  Grammar,  voL  i, 
p.  15)  initial  d  is  susceptible  of  absorption,  i.c,  of  being 
suppressed  in  tlie  Celtic  fashion,  by  the  influence  of  the 
preceding  word ;  but  this  actually  occurs  only  in  the  single 
word  "  dinari"  dcnaro.  Meda  dinari  will  be  pronounced 
mcda  inari ;  as  opposed  to  quantos  dinaris,  where  the  d  not 
only  asserts  itself  but  demands  the  strong  sound  of  the 
düuble  d  for  the  reasons  already  explaiiied  in  note  2. 


DIALECT    OF   SARDINIA.  7 

7.  dd. — This  digrani  may  convey  two  sounds,  tliat  of  tlie 
strong  or  double  Italian  d,  and  the  special  palatal  sound  of 
the  Cagliaritan,  Logudorese,  Sassarese,  Sicilian,  and  in  part 
of  the  Corsican  dialects  also.  The  latter  sound  I  have 
already  spoken  of  in  the  remarks  prefixed  to  the  Sicilian 
Yersion  of  St.  Matthew ;  and  I  shall  confine  myself  here  to 
reminding  my  readers  that  it  almost  always  corresponds  to 
an  Italian  or  Latin  double  /,  "calteddu"  castello,  "beddu" 
leUo,  "  eddu"  e(jli,  ille,  "  chiddu"  queUo. 

The  former  sound,  that  of  double  d  Italian,  has  an  entirely 
different  origin,  since  it  corresponds  nearly  always  to  an 
Italian  or  Latin  weak  t,  as  may  be  perceived  in  "  andaddu ' 
andcäo,"áíLáá\i"  dato,"vìzz[hidái\"ricevuto,  "laddru"  ladro,  latro. 
The  word  "  fraddeddu"  frateUo,  presents  both  sounds ;  first 
the  strong  dental,  and  then  the  strong  palatal ;  the  one 
derivtd  from  t,  the  other  from  U.  The  palatal  sound  may 
be  indicated  phonetically  by  "  dd",  when  strong,  and  by  "  d" 
W' hen  weak,  as  in  the  Logudorese  nde,  pronounced  "  nde". 

8.  e. — The  Sassarese  c,  like  the  Italian,  is  sometimes  open 
and  sometimes  closed.  In  this  particular,  the  Sassarese 
dialect  follows  the  Logudorese  pronunciatiou,  in  preference 
to  the  Italian;  while  the  Tempiese  more  often  agrees  with 
the  latter.  Thus  mcla,  in  Italian  and  Tempiese,  is  spoken 
with  e  closed,  while  the  open  e  is  heard  in  tlie  same  word, 
both  in  Sassarese  and  in  Logudorese.  (See  Spano's  Gi'ammar, 
vol.  i,  p.  7.)  When  e  loses  the  tonic  accent,  by  reason  of 
inflexiün  or  other  etymological  change,  it  is,  as  a  rule,  con- 
verted  into  i  in  Sassarese,  in  Tempiese,  and  in  other  southern 
dialects.  Thus  "  vèni"  viene,  gives  "  vinùddu"  vcnuto,  in 
speaking  as  w^ell  as  in  writing;  and  "  fabèdda"  ^mẃí,  "vèlti" 
vcste,  "  vèdi"  vede,  give  fahiddàddu,  viUìri,  and  vidèndi. 

9./. — The  strong  pronunciation  of  this  letter  in  no  respect 
differs  from  that  known  in  Italian;  but  w^hen  the  weak 
sound  is  required,  it  is  no  longer  spoken  as  f,  but  as  v.     Tlie 


8  THE   PRONUNCIATION    OF   THE    SASSARESE 

words  "  figliolu"  ^^^ẃío^o,  "  figga"  ^co,  "  faccia",  wbich,  whni 
isolated,  are  pronounced  as  written,  viz.,  with  /,  are  ex- 
pressed  in  speech,  though  never  in  writing,  as  lu  viglwlu,  la 
vigga,  la  vaccia. 

Tlie  iaitial  mutation  of  /  into  v  occurs  also  in  the  Celtic 
tongues,  but  only  in  Irish  and  Manx  of  the  Gaelic  group, 
and  Cornish  arnong  the  Cymric.  The  Scottisb  Gaelic  among 
tbe  former  class,  and  Welsh  and  Armorican  of  tbe  latter, 
are  witbout  it.  Thus,  exactly  in  the  sanie  \vay  as  the  Sas- 
sarese,  figlwlu  may  be  converted  into  vigliolii  iu  speaking, 
the  Irish  "fuil"  {blood),  may  become  vuil  (written  hJìfuil),the 
Manx  "  feanish"  (luitness)  veanish,  and  the  Cornisb  "  for" 
(road),  vor. 

10.  g. — Tbis  letter  takes  the  hard  Italian  somid  before  the 
vowels  a,  o,  or  u ;  or  any  consonant  not  forming  part  of  tbe 
digrams  gl,  and  gn,  of  wbicb  a  word  presently  ;  aud  the  hard 
sound  also,  as  the  terminal  of  a  proper  name :  e.g.,  "gudi- 
mentu"  godimcnto,    "  gràbidda"  gravida,  "  Magog". 

Before  the  vowels  e  and  i,  it  has  the  sibilant  pronuncia- 
tion  tbat  Italian  gives  to  it  in  tbe  syllables  ge,  gi,  as  long  as 
these  are  pronounced  strong ; — as  if  written  double,  tbat  is ; 
but  if  the  influence  of  tbe  preceding  word  \\eakens  its 
sound,  initial  mutation  occurs.  Tliis  mutation,  peculiar  to 
Sassarese,  consists  in  the  transformation  of  the  sibilant 
sound  of  g  into  that  of  a  j,  pronounced  as  a  true  consonant 
with  a  palatalized  sound ;  not,  namely,  as  we  bear  it  in  correct 
Tuscan  speecb  in  the  words  aio,  baio,  etc. ;  but  just  as  it  is 
(improperly)  pronounced  by  the  Eomans,  and  tlie  majority 
of  Italians,  viz.,  ajo,  hajo,  etc.  Tbus  tbe  word  "gesgia" 
chiesa,  will  be  sounded  Jesgia,  if  a  word  capable  of  producing 
the  initial  mutation  precede,  as  it  does  in  tbe  case  of 
la  gesgia.  Tbis  is  pronounced  la  jcsgia,  though  npver 
written  so. 

Tbe  !Manx  and  Scottish  Gaelic  also  change  the  sound  of  g 


DIALECT   OF   SARDINIA.  9 

aspirate  into  that  of  /  Tliiis,  in  the  former  Jee,  God 
(pronounced  as  Italian  Gi)  is  converted  into  Yee  (pronounced 
as  Eoman  Ji)  in  dty  Yee,  Thy  God. 

The  hard  g,  preceded  by  /,  is  converted,  in  pronunciation, 
into  the  hard  guttnral  Greek  7,  as  heard  in  'yá\a,  íiot  as  in 
7eVoç,  while  the  antecedent  l  nndergoes  the  same  trans- 
formation.  Thus,  the  words  "alga"  spazzatura,  "lalgu" 
largo,  "  ilgabbaddu"  sgarbato,  are  spoken  as  ayya,  la<yju, 
i'yyahhaddu.     (See  under  letter  Z.) 

11.  gh. — Eeceives  no  other  souuds  in  Sassarese  than  those 
of  which  the  hard  g  is  susceptible.  Thus,  "  alghi",  spazzature, 
"  Lalghi",  larghi,  "inghirià",  andare  ingiro,  are  pronounced,  the 
hast  as  written,  the  two  first  as  lay<yi,  ar/ji. 

Gh,  in  Italian,  serves  to  express  a  sound  called  "schiacciato", 
(palatalized)  which  is  wanting  in  Sassarese  and  Temj^iese,  and 
which  would  be  termed  niouillé  in  French.  It  is,  in  fact, 
nothing  else  than  the  voiced  sound  corresponding  to  the  ch  iu 
occhi,  whicli  modern  phoneticism  usually  represents  by  "g'".  It 
is  indicated  in  Italian,  sometimes  by  the  digram  gh,  and  sonie- 
times  by  the  trigram  ghi,  as  in  ragghi  and  ghianda.  In  the 
latter  word  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  three  letters  g,  h,  i,  all 
concur  to  form  the  single  palatalized  sound,  the  i  having  no 
existence  apart ;  while,  in  the  former,  the  same  effect  is 
produced  by  gh  alone,  and  the  i  pronounced  separately. 

12.  gi. — Gi  represents  the  sound  of  g  sibilant  before  the 
vowels  a,  0,  and  u,  in  Sassarese  as  in  Italian,  in  all  cases 
where  the  initial  nmtation  into  j  does  not  take  place. 
"  Giaddu"  gaUo,  is  spohen  with  the  Italian  gi,  while  "  lu 
giaddu"  il  gallo,  sounds  as  luj'addu. 

To  the  Italian  and  Sassarese  aspirate  g,  gg,  gi,  ggi,  corre- 
sponds  in  Tempiese  a  sound,  sui  generis,  wdiich  is  treated  of 
in  the  remarks  prefixed  to  the  version  of  the  Gospel  in  that 
dialect.  This  sound  in  the  middle  of  a  word  is  always  repre- 
sented  hj  gh,  or  ghi,  in  the  beginning  sometimes  by  one  of  these 


10  TIIE   PRONUNCIATION    OF   THE   SASSAEESE 

characters,  sûinetimes,  ratlier  illogically  (as  is  sliown)  Ly  g 
alone.  The  following  words,  however  they  are  íbund  printed, 
receive  the  said  peculiar  sound,  for  which  it  might  be  well 
to  eniploy  a  phonetic  sign  "g",  or  the  like ;  "ogghi"  oggi, 
"ghiaddu"  gallo,  "gliittà"  ^^^/«rí;,  "  viagghiu"  i'iaggio,  "giíi' 
già/'Gesii'  Gesù,  "Gerwsalemnú"  Gerusalemme,  "Giuseppa" 
Giusejjpe,  etc.  In  all  these  words,  Sassarese  presents  to  the 
ear  the  Italian  sibihmt  g  or  gi,  and  it  writes  them  oggi, 
giacldu,  gittà,  viaggÌH,  già,  Gcsu,  Gerusalemmi,  Giuseppi,  etc. 
Some  simple  phonetic  sign  or  other  should  in  the  same  way 
be  substituted  for  the  kci  sound,  which  in  the  Teinpiese  ver- 
sion  referred  to,  is  always  represented  by  cch  or  cchi. 

13.  gl. — Before  an  i  which  is  not  succeeded  by  another 
vowel,  gl  is  a  true  digram,  and  represents  the  sound  called 
by  the  French  "  l  mouillé".  Before  all  tlie  other  vowels,  the  g 
has  its  hard  sound,  as  in  Italian  in  the  words  glaciale,  gleha, 
gloria,  glutinc,  and  in  the  few  in  which  gli  occurs  followed 
by  another  consonant,  as  nefjligema.  In  this  particular,  Sas- 
sarese  follows  the  Italian  pronunciation,  sounding  figliolu, 
witli  liquid  (jl.  and  gloria  with  hard  g. 

In  Tempiese,  this  liquid  sound,  as  well  as  the  Italian 
double/,  is  often  rendered  by  a  palatal  cl,  w^ritten  as  dd.  This 
is  not  the  case  in  Sassarese.  Thus,  while  the  latter  says 
"  vogliu"  voglio,  "  megliu"  mcglio,  "figliolu"  Jigliitolo,  the  for- 
mer  both  writes  and  pronounces,  mecldu ,  fiddolu  and  vodda. 

15.  gn  is  pronounced  as  in  Italian. 

16.  h. — The  same  use  is  made  of  this  letter  as  in  the 
Italian  language,  where,  as  well  as  in  Sassarese,  it  has  no 
proper  value. 

17.  i. — Italian  pronunciation. 

18.  j. — A  true  palatalized  consonant ;  as  already  said  under 
letter  g.  Under  Spanish  rule,  this  sound  was  expressed  by 
ÿ,  according  to  Spanish  practice.     Thus,  Bcgir,  for  Dcju. 

k. — In  the  Logudorese  dialect  this  letter  is  made  use  of,  as 


DIALECT    OF   SARDINIA.  11 

in  Frencli,  by  tliose  "wlio  like  an  orthograpliy  lialf  etymo- 
logical  and  half  not. 

19.  l. — This  letter  in  Sassarese  bears  at  least  six  quite 
distinct  sounds,  which  I  will  call  the  natural,  the  voiceless 
guttnral,  the  voiced  guttural,  the  voiceless  dental,  the  voiced 
dental,  and  the  sibilant. 

Tlie  natural  sound,  that,  namely,  of  the  Italian  /,  obtains 
when  this  letter  comes  between  two  vowels,  or  occurs  as  aii 
initial ;  with  the  strong  form  if  the  letter  be  doubled,  the 
weak  modification  in  contrary  case.  Thus,  "  lu",  il,  lo, 
"  milli"  viille,  "  solu"  solo,  "  laddru"  ladro,  are  pronounced 
with  the  Italian  l  or  ìl.  It  obtains,  equally  as  in  Italian, 
before  z,  wheiher  the  z  correspond  to  the  z,  the  c  aspirate,  or 
the  s,  and  whether  the  /  represent  the  l  or  the  r  of  that 
tongue.  Thus  "  alza '  ahare,  "  calzina"  calcc,  "  salza"  salsa, 
"  malzu",  rtiarzo. 

The  A^oiceless  guttural  x  sound,  spoken  of  above  under  letter 
c,  is  given  to  l  Avhenever  a  hard  c  sound  follows  in  the  Italian 
form  of  tlie  word ;  and  the  latter,  too,  is  converted  into  ;^, 
whatever  be  the  origiu  of  the  /  in  question,  or  the  character 
by  whicli  the  sound  of  hard  c  is  expressed.  "  Solcu"  solco, 
"  solchi"  solclii,  "  alcu"  arco,  "  molca"  Tìiosca,  "  molchi" 
onosche,  "  \)íiìca."  pasqua,  are  all  pronounced  with  ^^  ;  so)q(^i(, 

soxxi,  f'XX^',  moxxa,  '^no^^i  P^tXX"- 

The  voiced  guttural  sound,  which  I  will  represent  by  7, 

obtains  in  analogous  cases,  namely,  when  /,  be  it  derived 

from  r  or  from  s,  is  found  followed  by  any  character  what- 

ever  meant  to  represent  hard  g,  while  the  latter  undergoes 

the  same  metamorphosis,  and  becomes  7  likewise.     "  Alga" 

spazzatura,     "  alghi"     sjìo.^tature,    "  lalgo"    largo,    "  lalghi" 

lanjhi,    "  ilgabbaddu"    sffaròato,    are    all    spoken    wìúi    77 

(strong  7)  ci'yya,  ajyi,  hiyyo,  layji,  i<yjahbaclclu. 

The  voiceless  dental  sound  occurs  when  /,  be  it  derived  from 

/•  or  from  s,  is  found  preceding  /,  which  latter  also  submits  to 


12  THE   PRONÜNCIATION    OF   THE   SASSARESE 

a  transformation  into  a  voiceless  dental  l.  For  the  sake  of  clear- 
ness,  I  wiU  indicate  this  sound  by  an  over-dotted  "  Ì".  The 
words  ''altu"  alto,  "palti",  iiarte,  "  baltoni",  bastone,  wiU 
accordingly  be  pronounced  with  a  double  "  Ì"  ("  Ì"  strong) 
"  aÌÌu",  "  paÌÌi",  "  baíioni"  (^).  The  sound  of  this  "  Ì"  though 
decidedly  dental,  differs  hardly,  if  at  all,  from  that  of  the 
letter  II,  belonging  to  the  "Welsh  alone  among  the  Celtic 
tongues;  the  sound  that  occurs  twice  in  the  name  Llangollen, 
and  is  heard  in  every  word  in  that  language  in  which  the 
character  II  is  found.  And  true  though  it  is,  that  the  Welsh 
produce  this  sound  by  striking  the  upper  jaw  with  the 
tonsue  to  the  riííht  of  the  middle  line,  it  is  no  less  true  that 
this  is  done  simply  as  a  matter  of  choice,  and  that  they  can 
produce  with  very  little  efíbrt  the  selfsame  sound,  by  strihing 
the  jaw  either  to  the  left,  or,  just  as  the  Sassarese  do,  at  the 
insertion  of  the  incisor  teeth. 

The  voiced  deutal,  which  might  be  called  the  Manx  pro- 
nunciation,  apj)ears  in  /  foUowed  by  d,  the  latter  beiiig 
itself  changed  at  the  same  time  into  "  1"  (i.c,  1  underdotted,  a 
character  employed  here  phonetically).  "  Caldu"  caldo, 
"  laldu"  lardo,  "  ihlintiggaddu"  sdentato,  are  all  pronounced 
with  double  "  1";  "  callu",  "  lallu",  "  iUintiggaddu." 

This  sound  I  call  Manx,  because  in  Irish  and  Scottish 
Gaelic  it  is  heard  in  a  much  more  lingual  and  exaggerated 
form  tlian  in  the  Isle  of  Man.  In  those  dialects  it  seeras  to 
me  that  a  greater  part  of  the  tongue  is  concerned  in  its 
production,  while  in  the  latter  attractive  island  I  have  always 
heard  it  enunciated  in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave  no  doubt 
in  my  mind  of  its  conformity  with  the  Sassarese  soft  dental 
/.  Nor  had  Sig.  Cauglia,  a  Sassarese  gentleman  introduced 
to  me  by  the  Eev.  Canon  Spano,  any  more  doubt  of  this 
conformity,  when  he  lieard  the  Iìev.  Mr.  Drury,  a  ]\íanx 
clergyman,  pronounce  the  said  Sassarese  words  ccddu,  lcddu, 
etc,  in  my  house  in  London.     This  "  1"  sound  appears  also 


T)I.\LFX'T   ÜF    SARDINIA.  1  !*. 

when  an  n  follows,  but  tlie  n  is  not  itself  changed  into  "1". 
Thus,  iliiaturaddib  is  spoken  "  ilnaturaddu",  not  "  illatu- 
raddu". 

The  sound  of  l  sibilant,  which  I  will  represent  by  a  Greek 
\,  cannot  be  better  defined  linguistically  than  as  a  Welsh  II 
palatalized  or  "  mouillée".  Welsh  itself  does  not  possess  such 
a  modification  of  its  peculiar  II,  which  belongs  specially  to 
Sassarese.  Such  a  connection  at  least  appears  to  me  to  be  that 
whích  exists  between  the  Welsh  II  sound  (voiceless  dental  l  of 
Sassarese,  or  "Ì")  and  this  sibilant  l  or  X,  though  less  de- 
cisively  so  than  that  which  is  apparent  between  the  II  in 
Filli  and  the  gl  in  figli.  This  sound,  more  sibilant  than 
that  of  "1",  though  it  originate  also  from  r,  or  from  s,  is 
noticed  when  the  labials  p,  h,  m,  or  the  semi-labials  /,  v, 
immediately  follow.  Be  it  noted,  however,  that  in  this  case 
the  said  consonants  are  not  themselves  transformed,  as  we 
saw  happen  with  '^^,  with  7,  with  1,  and  with  1,  into  tlie 
sound  that  precedes  them,  but  are  properly  pronounced  after 
that  sound.  The  words  "  palpà"  paljmre,  "  colpu"  corjjo, 
"ilpina"  spina,  "sulfaru"  solfo,  "fulfaru"  crusca,  "ilfattu" 
sfatto,  "alburu"  albcro,  "balba"  harha,  "ilbirru"  hirro,  "mal- 
vasia",  "zelvu"  cervo,  "  ilviaddu"  sviato,  "calma '  calmare, 
"velmu"  verme,  "ilmuzzaddu"  smozzato,  are  all  pronounced 
witli  X:  jm^j^à  co\pu,  i\pina,  su\faru,  fvXfarU;  i\fattu, 
a\2>urî(,  ha\ha,  i\hirru,  ma\vasia,  zc\vu,  i\ciaddu,  ca\mà, 
ve\mu,  i\muzzaddu. 

"When  the  preceding  word  ends  with  l,  the  initial  con- 
sonant  of  that  which  fullows  determines  the  sound  to  be 
given  to  such  final  l.  So  the  words  "  pal  basgià"  per  baciare, 
"  pal  cadì"  per  cadere,  "  pal  ceggu"  per  cieco,  "  pal  chiltu"  per 
questo,  "pal  ci'dma'  per  chiamare,  "pal  àa!'  per  darc,  "pal  fa' 
per  fare,  "pal  gudì"^er  godere,  "  pal  gittà"  per  gettare,  "pal 
ghettu"  pcr  ghetto,  "  pal  giaddu"  per  gallo,  "  pal  magnà''  per 
/?iH?i^mr^,  "  pal  pudè"  ^)<T  poterr,  "  -[^iú  (iuattoldizi"  per  (jiuit- 


14  TIIE   PRONUNCIATION    OF   THE    SASSARESE 

tordici,  "pal  te''  per  te,  "pal  vidè"  per  vedere,  "pal  z'úck"  pcr 
cercarc,  "pal  zurradda"  pcr  giornata,  are  pronounced,  some 
with  l  Italian,  some  with  ^  {voiceless  guttural),  some  with  7 
(voiced  guttural),  sorae  with  "Ì"  (voiceless  dental  l),  some  with 
"1"  (voiced  dental  l),  and  finally,  some  with  X,  (sibilant  l),  as 
phonetically  expressed  here :  pa\basgià,  píí%x«<'^ì',  palceggu, 
'pa')Q(%llu,  palciamà,  pallà,  pnXfà,2Ja'yyudì,  ^^^(^giiià,  ^Jayyettu, 
'palgiaddîi,pa'kmagnà,pu\pudé,pa')Q(_aattoldizi,2')allé,  pa\vidé, 
pfdzi-)Q(à,  imhurradda. 

It  would  seeni  to  rae,  after  mature  reflection  on  these 
various  forms  of  the  Sassarese  l,  that  the  sound  of  the  voiced 
sibilant  l  should  also  be  adraitted,  as  I  have  included  the  two 
dental  and  the  two  guttural  sounds,  of  which  oue  is  voice- 
less  and  the  other  voiced. 

A  somewhat  delicate  and  attentive  ear  may  by  chance 
notice  a  slight  difference  between  the  sound  of  l  before  the 
voiceless  consonants  p  and/,  in  the  words  palpà,  colpn,  ilpina, 
sulfaru,  fidfaru,  ilfattu,  and  that  which  the  same  letter 
takes  when  followed  by  a  voiced  consonant,  as  in  alburu, 
balha,  ilbirru,  mahasia,  zelvu,  ihiaddu,  calmà,  velmu,  ilmuz- 
zaddu.  Another  very  slight  difference  the  Eev.  Canon  Spano 
points  out  between  the  sound  of  l  derived  froni  s  and  that  of 
l  originating  from  r,  or  corresponding  to  l  in  Italian,  it  being 
more  prolonged  in  tlie  forraer  case  than  in  the  latter.  These 
last  distinctions  must  not  be  denied,  but  as  they  are  not 
such  as  are  generally  perceived  even  by  a  fairly  acute  ear,  I 
do  not  think  I  ought  to  adrait  either  a  phonetic  represen- 
tation  or  an  increase  in  the  number  of  the  thirty-seven 
sounds.  Enough  that  I  have  noticed  them,  confining  myself 
to  the  sole  remark  that  if  such  minute  differences  of  sound 
are  to  be  treated  as  of  importance,  the  Sassarese  l  would  be 
capable  of  expressing,  not  six,  but  thirteen  raore  or  less 
different  sounds,  and  that  these  niight  be  methodically 
arranged  thus — 


DIALECT   OF   SAliDINIA.  1;") 

SOÜNDS  CORRESPONDING  TO  l  AND  r.       SOUNDS  CORRESPONDING  TO  S. 

1.  l  Italian  ;  so/h,  laddru,  milli. 

2.  í  Yoiceless  guttiiral ;  solcu.,  alcu.  8.  molca. 

3.  í  yoiced  guttural ;  alga,  lalgu.  9.  ilgabbaddu. 

4.  Z  Yoiceless  dental ;  altu,  palti.  10.  baltoni. 

5.  /  Yoiced  dental ;  cahlu,  laìdu.  11.  ildintiggaddu. 

6.  /  Yoiceless  sibilant;  prt//jà,  ./"(«//«?•«.  12.  iìpina,  iì/attu. 

7.  Zvuicedsibilant;  a///íí?-M,  se/yu,  t"e/?H«.  13,  ilbirru,  ilviaddu,  ilmuzzaddu. 

Be  it  noted  that  neither  the  Tempiese  dialect,  nor  the 
Cagliaritan,  nor  even  the  Logudorese,  in  its  literary  form  at 
least,  is  capable  of  any  but  the  íirst  of  all  these  l's ;  and  that 
in  them  the  character  l,  wlienever  it  occurs,  is  invariably  so 
pronounced. 

In  Tempiese,  indeed,  the  conversion  of  r  (never  that  of  s) 
into  l  takes  place  before  gutturals,  dentals,  and  labials,  as  in 
the  words  "  balca"  harca,  "niolti"  morte,  "  eol])\i"  corjjo,  ete.; 
but  such  words  are  spohen  as  written,  with  l  Italian,  and  not 
as  ba;Y%^'  molli,  coXpu. 

20.  ììi. — Italian  pronunciation. 

21.  n — Italian  pronunciation  ;  i.e.,  as  dental  n,  when  it  is 
not  foUowed  by  b  or  p,  or  by  hard  ^  or  c ;  as  m,  when  b  or  p 
foUows  ;  and  as  guttural  n  ("  ii"  of  the  linguists)  when  a  hard 
c  ox  g  succeeds.  Thus  jMue,  pan  bianco,  vengo,  are  pronounced 
"  pane",  "  pambiahco",  "  vengo". 

22.  0. — Italian  pronunciation ;  i.e.,  sometimes  open,  some- 
times  closed.  In  this  particular  Sassarese  follows  rather 
the  Logudorese  practice,  while  Tempiese  agrees  more  witli 
the  Italian.  (See  Spano's  Grammar,  vol.  i,  p.  7).  Thus 
amòri  in  Sassarese,  and  amóri  in  Tempiese. 

0  is  very  often  converted  into  %  by  the  agency  of  inflexion 
or  other-'  etymological  change,  when  it  has  lost  the  tonic 
accent ;  as  is  observed  in  Tempiese,  and  other  southern 
dialects.  Thus,  while  we  write  and  say  "  inòri"  mnore, 
"  pòni",  2}one,  "  dròmmi",  dorme,  we  have  to  speak  and  write  : 
"  muri"  morire,  "punarà"  porrà,  "  drumml"  dormire. 


16  THE   PRONUNCIATION    OF   THE    SASSARESE 

23.  'ŷ. — This  letter,  thougli  it  is  always  written  as  ^p,  re- 
presents  two  sounds,  that  of  f,  and  that  of  h.  The  initial 
change  of  ^  into  &  takes  place  in  Sassarese  as  in  the  Celtic 
tongues,  but  only  when  the  weak  pronunciation  shouhl 
obtain,  as  has  been  observed  already  under  letter  c.  Thus, 
"  pobbulu"  popolo,  "  lu  pobbulu"  il  pojwlo : — the  former  is 
pronounced  jJohhulu,  the  latter  lu  hohhulu,  exactly  as  happens 
in  Welsh  in  this  very  same  word  "  pobl"  pcople,  "  y  bobl" 
the  pcople. 

P  is  often  transformed  into  double  h,  both  in  writing  and 
speaking,  as  the  same  word  pohhulu  shows  us. 

24.  q. — Has  the  same  force  as  in  Italian,  save  in  those 
cases  in  which  the  sound  of  hard  c  is  susceptible  of  change, 
after  the  Celtic  fashion,  into  that  of  hard  g  ;  or  by  the  assimi- 
lative  influence  of  l,  into  tliat  of  '^^. 

Thus,  in  "  c[uattoldizi"  qnattordici,  it  has  the  Italian  pro- 
nunciation;  in  li  quattoldizi,  li  guattoldizi  is  heard,  and  in 
pal  quattoldizi  the  pronunciation  is  as  fCf^o^ìLattoldi^i. 

25.  r. — This  letter  is  given  with  the  sound  of  rr  when 
the  strong  pronunciation  is  required,  and  as  single  r  when 
tlie  weak.  "  Eezza"  rcte,  "  la  rezza"  la  rctc.  In  Welsh,  the 
aspirated  rli  is  converted  into  r,  in  an  analogous  manner  : 
"  rhwyd"  net,  "  dy  rwyd"  thy  net.  R,  moreover,  as  we  have 
seen  under  letter  l,  is  very  often  converted  into  l,  y^,  7,  "  Ì", 
"  1",  or  X,  according  to  the  letter  that  follows.  It  will  be 
well  to  add,  that  in  speahing  as  well  as  in  writing,  it  fre- 
quently  undergoes  still  other  changes.  lìn  is  generally 
rendered  by  rr,  as  in  "  carri"  carnc,  "inferru"  inferno,  "  zur- 
radda",  giornata  (*).  R  preceding  j5,  though,  as  a  rule,  trans- 
formed  into  sibilant  /  (\),  becomes  in  "ilcappi"  scarpe,  a  p, 
by  assimilation.  FoUowed  by  s,  it  is  itself  transformed  by 
the  same  assimilative  process  into  an  5  also  (■^),  as  in  "  pessu" 
perduto,  perso ;  and  whenever  it  is  found  in  Italian,  with  an 
l  succeeding,  their  union,  seemingly  Jittle  in  accord  with 


DIALECT    OF    SARDINIA.  17 

Sassarese   notions,   is   ruthlessly  severed.      "Tarulu"  tarlo, 
"  perula"  perla,  etc. 

26.  s. — Is  pronounced  with  a  strong  voiceless  sound  in  all 
cases  in  which  other  consonants  receive  a  strong  pronunciation, 
and  with  a  weak  voiced  sound  in  contrary  cases.  Thus, 
between  two  vowels,  or  at  the  beginning  of  a  word  preceded 
by  another  that  demands  the  initial  mutation  from  voiceless  to 
Yoiced  (in  "  casa",  "  cosa",  "  lu  santu"  il  santo,  for  instance),  the 
Sassarese  s  will  be  voiced,  as  in  the  word  sposa  in  Italian ; 
and  not  as  it  is  given  in  the  first  three  examples  in  correct 
Tuscan  speech,  viz.,  voiceless.  In  the  isolated  word,  santn, 
on  the  other  hand,  or  in  a.  santu,  e  santu,  cun  santu,  the  s 
is  voiceless  in  Sassarese  also.  S  reduplicated,  further,  bears 
not  merely  the  ordinary  voiceless  sound,  but  one  still  more 
forcible,  as  in  the  Italian  cassa ; — "  fossu"  fosso,  "  cussì" 
così.  The  Armorican  alone  among  the  Celtic  languages 
(perhaps  the  Cornish  also),  offers  us  this  initial  mutation 
of  the  voiceless  into  the  voiced  s  by  the  influence  of  the 
word  preceding.  Thus,  giving  to  the  z  the  sound,  which 
tliat  character  bears  in  Armorican,  of  the  Italian  voiced  s, 
"sac'h"  sack  is  written  and  pronounced  "  zac'h"  in  "da  zac'h" 
thy  sack,  exactly  as,  in  Sassarese,  the  strong  s  of  the  word 
saccu  is  converted  into  the  voiced  form  in  lu  to'  sctccu ; 
lu  do'  zaccu,  with  the  French  or  Armorican  z,  being  tlie 
pronunciation  required. 

S,  as  has  been  seen  already  under  letter  l,  may  give  place 
to  the  sounds  %,  7,  "  1",  "  1",  and  X,  always  represented  in 
writiug  by  /.  Be  it  added  here  that  this  letter  is  regularly 
converted  into  l  Italian  before  another  /,  as  in  "illo"oià" 
sloggiarc,  which  is  written  and  pronounoed  with  two  Ts.  It 
is  converted  also  into  r  before  another  r,  as  in  irradizinà" 
sradicare  (^),  and  is  written  so  as  well  as  pronounced.  In  the 
word  "  eddis"  eglino  or  elleno,  a  synonym  of  eddi,  the  s,  when 
it  comes  at  the  end  of  a  period  or  phrase,  presents  to  the  ear, 
VOL.  IV.  c 


18  THE   PRONUNCIATION    OF   THE    SASSAEESE 

after  the  Logudorese  faslìion,  a  yery  faint  snbseqiient  repe- 
tition  of  tlie  preceding  i;  as  it  were  eddisi.  This  word 
eddis,  and  lís,  in  the  sense  of  a  eddis,  are,  I  believe,  the  only 
ones  in  Sassarese  that  end  in  s. 

27.  sc. — These  two  letters  do  not,  either  more  or  less  than 
in  Italian,  form  a  digram,  or,  in  other  words,  represent  a 
simple  sound,  unless  followed  by  e  or  i.  Before  the  remain- 
ing  vowels  they  are  expressed  separately ;  the  s,  that  is,  is 
converted  into  %  (voicel^s  guttural),  and  the  c  assumes  that 
sound  likewise.      Thus  "  cunniscì"  conoscere,  "  molca"  mosca, 

pronounced  Tìw^o^f^- 

28.  sci. — This  is  a  trigram ;  since  the  i  is  not  pronounced 
as  sucli  (^),  but  ouly  co-o^^erates  with  the  s  and  c  in  the  forma- 
tion  of  the  conventional  character  by  which  in  Italian  and 
Sassarese  orthography  it  has  been  chosen  to  represent  the 
"  s"  sound  of  the  linguists  before  the  vowels  a,  o,  w,  as  in 
"asciuttu"  asciutto. 

29.  sg. — The  sound  of  the  Frenchy,  known  by  the  linguists 
under  the  form  "z",  is  in  Sassarese  expressed  by  this  digram 
before  e  and  i.  The  Cagiiaritans  make  use  of  x  or  else  of  c, 
as  in  su  cehi,  which  they  pronounce  su  xelu,  the  x  having  the 
force  of  the  Sassarese  sg :  "  basgi"  haci.  Before  the  other 
vowels  the  s  is  changed,  as  was  seen  under  letter  /,  into  7 
(voiced  guttural),  and  the  g  takes  that  sound  as  well.  This 
occurs  in  "ilgabbaddu"  sgarlato,  which  wiU  be  pronounced 
i'yyahhaddu. 

30.  S(ji. — Eepresents  the  preceding  sound^  the  i  having  nô 
proper  force,  when  the  vowels  a,  0,  u  follow  :  "  basgia"  hacia, 
"  basgiu"  hacio. 

31.  t. — Sounds  as  in  Italian  when  the  strong  form  is  de- 
manded,  but  when  tlie  pronunciation  has  to  be  weak  it  is 
converted  into  d.  Thus  terra  is  given  with  t  Italian,  and  so 
are  a  tcrra,  e  terra,  cun  tcrra,  while  la  terra,  la  noltra  terra, 
are  heard  as  la  derra,  la  noltra  derra.    The  same  thintT  occurs 


DIALECT   OF   SARDINIA.  19 

in  the  Celtic  tongues,  except  in  tlie  Scottish  Gaelic,  which 
never  admits  the  initial  mutation  of  a  voiceless  into  a  voiced 
consonant.  Thus  in  Irisli,  "tír"  couniry,  gives  "ár  dír"  our 
country;  though  it  is  written  ár  d-tir,  by  force  of  ihe  rule 
called  eclipsis,  which  requires,  in  Irish  orthography,  the  conso- 
nant  sounded  to  be  succeeded  by  the  one  which  is  no  longer 
heard  iu  the  pronunciation,  but  retained  for  etymological 
reasons. 

So  also  the  Welsh,  which,  preferring  phonetic  to  etymo- 
logical  orthography,  of  "tad"  fatlier,  makes  "dy  dad"  tliy 
fatìicr,  and  writes  it  witli  t  or  with  d,  according  to  the  pro- 
nuuciation. 

The  Sassarese  t  is  susceptible  of  a  third  sound  yet,  viz.,  of 
becoming  a  vöiceless  dental  l  in  pronunciation,  when  it  is 
preceded  by  "Ì"  a  sound  of  like  character.    (See  under  letter  /.) 

This  letter,  fìnally,  may  be  converted  into  a  non-palatal  dd, 
as  has  been  said  already  in  the  section  relating  to  dd. 

32.  u. — Italian  pronunciation. 

33.  V. — Is  pronounced  as  in  Italian  when  of  strong  sound; 
but  when  corresponding  to  the  weak  pronunciation  of  other 
cousonants,  is  converted  iuto  a  soft  5  of  Spanish  character. 
(See  under  letter  è.)  Thus  in  vinii,  avvizina,  lu  vinu ;  the 
two  first  have  the  Italian  v,  as  in  vino,  awicina,  but  the  third 
is  pronounced  ht  hinu,  with,  however,  a  Spanish  h,  less  labial 
than  the  Italian. 

In  the  Celtic  tongues,  v  does  not  undergo  initial  change ; 
but  even  here,  the  Tempiese  dialect,  which  knows  nothing 
of  the  other  mutations  which  occur  in  Sassarese,  Cagliaritan, 
Logudorese,  and  the  Celtic  languages — the  Tempiese  dialect, 
I  repeat,  offers  the  Hnguist  a  point  of  encounter  with  the 
last  named,  in  the  elimination  to  which  the  letter  in  question 
is  there  subject.  This  suppression  takes  place  in  every  case 
in  which  Sassarese  transforms  it  into  h,  and  Logudorese  into 
h  aspirate ;  as  in  su  vinu,  jyro  vendere,  which,  in  the  latter 

c  2 


20  TIIE   PRONUNCIATION    OF   THE    SASSARESE 

dialect,  as  Spano  sliows  us  {Grammar,  vol.  i,  p.  12),  are 
pronounced,  tliougli  never  written,  "  su  hinu"  il  vino,  "  pro 
liendere'' j^er  vendere.  Thougli  v,  in  the  Celtic  tongues,  is 
never  subject  to  such  elimination,  it  is  no  less  true  that  this 
process  is  observed  in  the  case  of  the  Welsh  and  Armorican 
hard  g  ;  "gwr"  maìi,  and  "  gwerzid"  spindle,  being  reduced  to 
lüT  (^),  and  íverzid,  by  the  force  of  the  preceding  word  (^) ; 
precisely  as  occurs  in  Tempiese  in  the  word  vinu,  which, 
isolated,  or  in  a  vinu,  e  vinu,  etc,  is  spoken  with  a  v ;  while 
hù  vinu,  cJiista  vinu,  on  the  other  hand,  are  lieard,  though 
not  written,  as  lu  inu,  cliistu  inu. 

In  the  three  Gaelic  dialects,  too,  the  letter  /,  which  bears 
so  close  a  rehition  to  v,  is  similarly  affected.  "  Fuill"  blood,  is 
converted  into  icill  in  "dty  uiU"  thy  hlood,  in  the  Manx  dialect; 
and  thouah  the  word  in  Irish  and  Scottish  Gaelic  is  written 
fuil  when  the  /  is  to  be  sounded ;  and  fhuil  wdien  it  is  to  be 
sujDpressed,  its  pronunciation  is  always  the  same  as  in  Manx. 

In  Bitti,  further  (see  Spano's  Grammar,  vol.  i,  p.  12),  the 
/  in  the  word  fizu  presents  an  absolute  conformity  with  the 
three  Gaelic  dialects ;  for,  while  pronounced  sos  fizos  in  the 
plural,  in  the  singular  it  is  heard  as  su  izu,  and  not  as 
su  vizu,  as  in  Logudorese  in  general.  In  Manx,  finally, 
initial  suppression  of  b,  d,  and  m,  may  take  place  in  words 
where  these  cousonauts  are  followed  by  iü,  as  in  "  mwyllar" 
miller,  "  bwinnican"  yolk,  "  dwoaie"  hatred,  which  are  pro- 
nounced  and  written  accordingly,  "  yn  wyllar"  the  7niller, 
"  yn  winnican"  tìie  yolk,  "  e  woaie"  his  hatred.  Precisely^ 
similar  is  the  Logudorese  practice  (see  under  h  and  d)  with 
regard  to  the  d  of  dinari,  and  the  b  of  boe,  which  are  trans- 
formed  in  pronunciation,  though  not  in  writing,  into  su 
inari,  su  oe. 

Nor  should  the  similarity  be  overlooked  between  the 
changes  that  afíect  the  letters  s  and  t  in  the  three  Gaelic  dia- 
lects  and  /  in  Cornish  alone  of  the  Cambrian  group ;  and  the 


DIALECT   OF    SARDINIA.  21 

iuitial  inutation  into  li  aspirate  to  wliicli  tbe  Logudorese  v  is 
subject;  for,  just  as  in  Logudorese,  vendere  and  vinu  are 
converted  into  hendere  and  hinu ;  "  sál"  hcel,  in  Irish,  and 
"  íiôli"  hoij,  in  Cornish  give  place  to  "  a  shál"  (pron.  a  hál) 
his  heel,  and  "gen  hlô"  ivith  a  hoy.  So  also,  to  give  an 
examj)le  of  the  change  of  t  into  h  aspirate,  I  will  take  the 
Manx  dialect,  in  which  "  towse"  measnre,  becomes  "  e  howse" 
his  measure. 

X. — The  letter  x  is  not  used  either  in  Sassarese  or  iu 
Tempiese.  In  Cagliaritan  it  is  pronounced  as  tlie  French 
j,  i.e.,  as  the  Sassarese,  Logudorese,  and  Tempiese  digram 
sg.  In  Logudorese  it  is  used,  for  etymological  reasons, 
with  the  force  of  cs. 

y. — The  same  may  be  said  of  y,  which  is  used  in  Logu- 
dorese  alone,  with  the  force  of  i,  for  the  sake  of  etymology. 

z. — According  to  the  use  that  has  been  made  of  it  in  the 
Sassarese  version  of  St.  Matthew,  a  single  z,  as  an  initial,  will 
have,  as  in  Italian,  sometimes  a  voiceless  and  sometimes  a 
voiced  sound.  When  of  strong  voiceless  sound,  it  will  become 
weak  voiced  in  all  cases  in  which  the  initial  changes  of  voiceless 
sound  into  voiced  take  place.  Thus  in  "  zelu"  cielo,  it  will  be 
voiceless,  and  in  "  lu  zelu"  il  cielo,  voiced.  Tn  the  middle  of 
words  it  will  always  be  voiced  between  two  vowels,  as  in 
"  giultizia"  giustitia.  After  another  consonant  it  wiU  be,  as 
in  Italian,  sometimes  voiced  aud  sometimes  voicele3s ;  but  I 
believe  that  of  all  the  words  that  occur  in  the  version  of  St. 
]\Iatthew  the  only  ones  which  have  a  voiced  z  after  a 
consonant  are  "  franza"  frangia,  where  the  z  corresponds  to 
the  ItaHan  sibilant  y ;  and  "pazienzia",  with  both  the  zs> 
voiced. 

In  "  rranza"  Francia,  z  is  voiceless,  as  it  corresponds  to  the 
Italian  sibilant  c;  in"monza"?>ionaca,it  isvoiced;  but,speaking 
generally,  it  will  be  almost  always  voiceless  after  a  consonant, 
as  in  "malzu"  marzo,  "folza"/or2;a,  "piniddenzia"  jje?iŵ?im,  etc. 


22  THE   PEONUNCIATION   OF   THE   SASSARESE 

35.  zz. — This  digram,  according  to  the  orthography  adopted 
in  the  Yersion  of  St.  Matthew,  wiU  have  a  constantly  voiceless 
sound.  Thus,  "  rizzibì"  riccvcre,  "  ozziu"  ozio,  "  nigozziu" 
ncgozio ;  while  words  such  as  rozu,  muzu,  profctizà,  etc, 
having,  unlike  their  Italian  correlatives,  only  a  single  z 
between  two  vowels,  will  be  pronounced  with  that  letter 
of  voiced  sound.  And  be  it  here  noted,  that  the  sound 
of  zz  does  not  differ  from  that  of  single  z  of  voiced  pro- 
nunciation,  merely  as  any  strong  letter  may  differ  from  its 
weak  counterpart;  that  is  to  say,  as  Italian  t  from  tt,  etc. 
The  sounds  of  zz,  and  of  "  dd"  {clcl  palatal),  are  totally  dis- 
tinct  from  those  of  the  voiced  z,  and  of  the  non-palatal 
dd ;  as  distinct  as  p  and  h,  t  and  cl,  f  and  v,  voiceless  s  and 
voiced  s,  are  from  each  other;  and  as  to  the  Italian  dcl,  it  stands 
to  the  Sassarese  "  cid",  as  the  Italian  /  to  the  Polish  palatal 
/,  or  almost  as  the  natural  n  of  vano  stands  to  the  guttural 
01  of  vango,  in  sounding  which  the  point  of  the  tongue 
does  not  meet  the  npper  teeth,  as  it  does  in  prououncing  the 
former. 


DIALECT    OF    SAHDINIA.  23 


N  0  T  E  S. 

1.  Dogli  awertimenti  della  lingua  sopra'l  Decaraerone.  Yenice, 
1584.     Vol.  i,  p.  261. 

2.  "  Usually"  I  say,  because  in  Italian  as  well  as  in  Sassarese,  a  single 
coní5onant  is  pronounced  as  if  written  double,  as  it  falls  under  tbe  fol- 
lowing  general  rules  :— 

a.  If,  being  initial  and  not  followed  by  a  consonant,  it  stands  at 
the  beginning  of  a  sentence,  whether  commencinga  period  or  clause 
(long  or  short)  or  following  a  comma. 

h.  If  the  preceding  w^ord,  though  ending  in  a  vowel,  be  an 
oxytone,  or  a  nionosyllable  derived  fi'om  a  Latin  word  whicli  has 
dropped  its  final  consonant,  or  final  syllable  begiuning  with  a  con- 
sonant,  in  becoming  Italian  or  Sassarese. 

Thus  the  preposition  a',  derived  from  the  Latin  aJ,  the  conjunction  e, 
correspondiug  to  eí,  sì  derived  from  s/c,  "nè"  «ec,  and  truucated  words 
like  "amò"  omcwit,  "potè"  potuit,  have  all  the  property  of  giving  a 
strong  sound  to  the  iuitial  con.<onant  of  the  word  fullowing;  and  though 
one  sees  written  a  Pietro.,  e  voi,  sì  girinde,  ne  guesto  ne  c/uello,  amò  molto 
potèjwco,  one  always  hears  a/>/)îeíro,  ewoi,  siggrande,  necquesto  necquello, 
amommolto,  poteppoco. 

The  weak  souud  of  the  consonants,  on  the  other  hand,  will  obtain 
in  every  case,  other  than  those  noted  in  tlie  above  rules,  in  which  the 
preceding  word  ends  in  a  vowel.  Thus  in  each  of  the  following 
examples:  — (Zí  JSIaria,  i  donì,  la  mente,  le  donne,  mi  clice,  ti  lascia,  s^i  goJe 
ama  molto,  pote'  poco,  molto  largo,  the  initial  consonant  of  the  second 
word  is  pronounced  as  written,  weak;  for  either  the  Latin  form  of  the 
preceding  word  {de,  illi,  illa,  illse,  lue,  te,  se,  potui)  ends  in  a  vo\vel,  or 
else,  as  ania  and  molto  in  ama  molto  and  molto  largo,  the  preceding  word 
has  not  the  tonic  accent  on  its  last  syllable. 

The  property  which  many  oxytones  and  monosyllables  posses.=3  of 
gÌYÌng  a  strong  sound  to  succeeding  initial  consonants,  does  uot  theu 
depend,  as  Salviati  would  have  it,  on  their  oxytonic  or  niono.«yllabic 
nature,  but  as  1  think  I  have  sufficiently  shown,  on  the  final  consonaut 
of  the  original  Latin  form.  This  Latin  final  consonant,  though  it  has 
disappeared  in  the  derived  dialects,  retains  its  effect  through  the  process 

'  In  Sassarese  this  preposition  gives  the  strong  sound  to  the  /  of  the 
article  only  when  the  following  word  comniences  with  a  vo\vel: — a  lu 
babbu,  airanima,  cdrHcrihi,  a  Ici  pcddra. 


24         PRONUNCIATION  OF  SASSARESE  ÜIALECT  OF  SARDINIA. 

called  assimilation,  by  virtue  of  which  it  is  trausformed  iuto  an  Italian 
or  Sassarese  initial. 

This  being  admitted,  the  oxytones  and  monosyllables  which  do  not 
enjoy  the  property  of  giving  a  strong  sound  to  initial  consonants,  and 
which  are  cited  by  Salviati  as  exceptions,  cease  to  be  such,  and  fall  ia 
with  my  general  rules. 

3.  The  word  "altru"  altw,  is  an  exception,  being  pronounced  with  / 
Italian. 

4.  Except  in  "eternu"  eterno,  "eterniddai"  eternità,  "urna", 
"  ternu"  terno,  "  incarnaddu"  incarnaío,  "  incarna^ioni"  incarnazione, 
"  turnu"  (the  "  turning-box"  of  a  monks'  parlour)  and  some  others. 

5.  Except  in  "forsi"  forse  (also  pronounced  vulgarly /osíí),  "cum- 
parsu"  comparso,  and  some  others. 

6.  Except  in  Israeli. 

7.  Except  in  those  words  in  which  i  receives  the  tonic  accent.  In 
these  the  trigram  is  resolved  into  the  digram  sc,  and  the  vowel  î,  which 
last  is  given  its  proper  value  ;  as  in  "  pascia"  jsascet-a.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  any  other  trigram  into  which  i  enters  as  its  third  element, 
the  Sassarese  sgi  and  the  Sassarese  and  Italian  (jli  for  instance.  And 
just  as  the  trigrams  are  resolved  into  digrams  and  vowels  by  reason  of 
the  tonic  accent  falling  on  the  latter,  the  digrams  themselves,  such  as 
ci  and  (ji,  are,  under  similar  circumstances,  split  up  into  simple  characters 
followed  by  a  fully  sounded  vowel  i.  Thus,  while  in  the  Italian  lam- 
hagia,  (ji  exists  as  a  digram  possessing  altogether  merely  the  sound  of 
(j  sibilant ;  in  alhagìa,  the  same  purpose  is  served,  not  by  the  digram 
(ji,  but  by  the  single  letter  g  preceding  the  i,  which  latter  is  distinctly 
pronounced  with  its  own  proper  sound. 

8.  In  Cornish,  gwr  gives  place  to  wur  by  mutation  of  g  into  lo. 

9.  I  will  remark  here  that  one  would  need  to  be,  if  not  blind,  at 
least  deaf ,  to  be  able  to  deny  the  identity  in  some  cases,  and  the  strong 
analogy  in  some  others,  between  the  Sardinian  and  the  Celtic  initial 
mutations,  as  far  as  concerns  material  points;  though  one  should  not 
for  all  that  assume  with  absolute  certainty  the  identity  of  the  causes 
which  produced  these  changes. 


25 


WELSH  BOOKS  PRINTED  ABROAD  IN  THE 

SIXTEENTH   AND   SEYENTEENTH   CEN- 

TURIES,  AND   THEIR  AUTHORS/ 

By  II.  W.  LLOYD,  M.A. 


Persons  of  a  literary  taste,  wlio  may  have  lived  long  enough 
to  remember  Paris  as  it  was  in  the  early  part  of  the  present 
century,  will  probably  not  have  forgotten  M.  Marcel,  a 
learned  Orientalist,  who  was  sometime  Director  of  the 
Imperial  Printing  Ofìice  under  the  first  Napoleon.  M.  Marcel 
was  by  profession  a  publisher,  and  to  his  other  pursuits, 
added  that  of  bibliographical  research.  It  was  he  who  first 
brought  to  the  notice  of  Prince  L.  Lucien  Bonaparte  a 
curious  volume,  printed  in  the  year  1568,  in  a  language 
evidently  Celtic,  but  in  a  type  and  orthography  exhibiting 
remarhable  peculiarities,  unlihe  those  pertaining  to  any  one 
of  the  existing  families  of  that  class  of  languages,  and  sup- 
posed  by  that  gentleman  to  bear  the  nearest  resemblance  to 
the  Cornish.  Of  this  book  Prince  Lucien  became  the  for- 
tunate  purchaser,  and  thus  found  himself  the  possessor  of  an 
unique  copy  of  the  "Athravaeth  Gristnogavl",  a  work  which 
has  just  been  reprinted  as  nearly  as  possible  in  facsimile 
by  the  Cymmrodorion  Society,  and  which  has  contributed 
largely  to  the  settlement  of  a  curious  controversy,  as  well  as 
to  the  elucidation  of  some  material  facts  in  connexion  with 
the  publication  of  a  larger,  and  to  scholars,  and,  indeed,  to 
the  lovers  and  students  of  Celtic  literature  generally,  a  more 
interesting  and  important  work,  the  Welsh  Grammar  of  Dr. 
Griffith  Eoberts.  To  the  Welsh  title  of  this  latter  book  is  ap- 
pended  no  press-mark  ;  but  simply  the  date  of  the  year,  and, 

1  Read  before  the  Honourable  Society  of  Cymmrodorion,  in  London, 
on  the  30th  June,  1880. 


26  WELSH    BOOIŶS    PRINTED   ABROAD   IN   THE 

in  Latin,   tlie   day  of  tlie  nionth ; — 1567.     1°  Martij.     We 
are  told,  liowever,  by  Dr.  Jolm  Dafydd  Ehŷs,  in  the  preface 
to  liis  Welsh  Grammar,  that  Grruffydd  Eoberts  wrote  a  Gram- 
mar,  and  "  Mediolaiii  excudit".    A  late  librarian  of  the  British 
Museum,  Sir  Antonio  Panizzi,  was  unable  to  bring  himself  to 
believe  tliat  by  ^'Mediolani"  the  city  of  Milan,  in  Italy,  could 
be  intended,  because,  as  he  averred,  the  peculiarities  character- 
istic  of  Italian  printing  were  not  to  be  detected  in  the  book. 
He,  therefore,  started  an  extraordinary  theory  of  his  own, 
which  was  that  by  "Mediolani"  must  be  understood,  not  Milan, 
in  Italy,  but  the  place  called  in  the  old  British  Itineraries 
"  Mediolanum",  a  Eoman  military  station,  the  site  of  which 
antic[uaries  have  been  greatly  puzzled  to  fìx  with  certainty, 
and  has  been  placed  by  some   in   Cheshire,  by   others  in 
Flintshire,  but  by  others  again,  and  with  far  greater  pro- 
bability,  in  Montgomeryshire.     Tlie  villages  in  that  county 
which  haA^e  contended  for  the  glory  of  it,  like  the  seven 
cities  of  old  for  being  the  birthplace  of  Homer,  being  Llan 
St.  Ffraid,  Llanfair,    Llanfechan,  Llanfyllin,  (from  Myllin), 
and    ]\Ieifod,    the   two   last   of  wliich,   approach   the   most 
nearly   in   sound  at  least  to  Mediolanum.      Some  months 
ago  an  announcement  was  made  by  Priuce  L.  L.  Bonaparte 
in  the  Äcademy,  that  in  the  colophon  at  the  end  of  the  preface 
to  tlie  Athraiüaeth,  which  had  proved  to  be  a  small  Welsh 
catechism,  printed  by  Dr.   Griffith  Eoberts,  the  author  of 
the  Welsh  Grammar,  the  words  were  found,  "  0  dref,  Pylen 
nosuyl  S.  Nicolas.",  and  in  tliat  at  the   end  of  the   l3ook, 
"  Ymylen.    1568.    dyuguyl.    S.  Mcolas.",  words  whicli  it  was 
declared,  on  no  less  an  authority  than  that  of  the  Eev.  D. 
Silvan  Evans,  could  be  referred  to  no  other  place  in  tlie  world 
than  Milan  in  Italy ;  and  tlius  no  further  room  was  left  for 
controversy  on  the  question  which  had  been  raised  by  Sir 
Antonio  Panizzi,  as  Dr.  Eoberts  must  naturally  have  printed 
the  one  work  at  the  place  where  he  printed  the  other.     ISTo 
serious  doubt,  indeed,  could  be  entertained  ou  sucli  a  matter 


SIXTEENTII   AND    SEVENTEENTII    CENTURIES.  27 

iu  tlie  mind  of  a  Welsliman,  as  otlierwise  none  could  liave 
been  raised  as  to  the  whereabouts  of  the  Eoman  station 
of  Mediolanum,  which  would  in  that  case  readily  have 
been  identified  by  its  very  name.  But  no  such  place  is  or 
has  been  known  either  to  historians  or  to  the  inhabitants  in 
modern  tinies.  But  if  there  were  still  room  left  for  such  a 
doubt  after  this  discovery,  still  further  materials  are  to  be 
found  for  its  solution  in  the  existence  of  another  work,  the 
Drycli  Cristionogaiül,  or  Christian  Mirror,  in  the  British 
Museum,  which  had  been  strangely  overlooked  by  Panizzi, 
of  which  Dr.  Grifíìth  Eoberts  is  uumistakeab]y  the  author. 
This  (which,  however,  was  printed,  not  by  the  author  himself 
at  Milan,  but  by  his  friend  and  fellow-worker,  Dr.  Eoger 
Smith,  at  Eouen),  contains,  in  Dr.  Smith's  introduction  to  it, 
a  direct  reference  to  a  Welsh  work  printed  by  Dr.  Eoberts  at 
Milan.  It  is  also  of  great  value  for  the  light  W'hich  it  throws 
upon  some  other  very  interesting  questions  which  have  grown 
out  of  the  publication  of  these  and  other  works  of  a  somewhat 
similar  character,  printed  to  all  appearance  in  a  sort  of  series, 
origiuating  for  the  most  part  in  a  singie  cause,  and  culmi- 
nating  in  a  single  object.  Why,  for  example,  was  the 
printing  of  this  series  commenced  in  Italy  and  continued 
afterwards  in  France  ?  And  secondly,  why  was  the  peculiar 
orthography  and  punctuation  found  in  them,  and  in  them 
only,  that  has  chiefly  led  to  these  perplexities,  adopted 
in  the  first  instance  by  Dr.  Eoberts,  and  continued,  with 
some  variations,  by  his  successor  in  the  Avork  of  printing 
theni,  Dr.  Eoger  Smith  ?  The  answ^er  to  these  questions, 
interesting  alike  to  the  critic  of  language  and  to  the  biblio- 
grapher,  is  fuUy  supplied  in  the  preface  and  in  some 
supplemental  additions  to  others  of  the  diíferent  works ; 
and,  therefore,  tliough  somewhat  long,  I  have  ventured 
here  to  reproduce  them. 

Of  the  Dnjch   Cristionogawl   I   am  unable    of  my   own 
knowledge  to  give  the  full  and  precise  title,  as  the  title- 


28  WELSH    BOOKS   PRINTED   ABROAD   IN   THE 

page  of  tlie  British  Museum  copy  (the  only  one  now  known) 

has  unhappily  been  lost.     According  to  the  British  Museum 

Catalogue  it  runs  thus,  mutatis  mutandis,  to  adapt  it  to  the 

modern  orthography:  "Y  Drych  Cristianogawl  yn  yr  hwn 

y  dichon  pob  Cristion  ganfod  gwreiddin  a  dechreuad  pob 

daioni   sprydawl,  sef,   gwybod   modd   i    wasanaethu    Duw, 

drwy  ei  garu  a^i   ofni  yn  fwy  na  dim,  ag  i   daílu  ymaith 

beth  bynnag  ar  a  fo  rwystr  i  hynny.     Y  rhan  gyntaf  yn 

peri   gwasanaethu  Duw   drwy   ei   garu."      "The    Christian 

Mirror,  in  which   every  Christian   may   see  the   root   and 

beginning  of  all  spiritual  goodness,  namely,  to  know  how 

to  serve  God  by  loving  and  fearing  Him  above  all  things, 

and  to  cast  away  whatever  shall  be  a  hindrance  to  that. 

The  First  Part,  causing  to  serve  God  by  loving  Him.    Edited 

by    Pt,    S.    [i.e.    Rosier   Smith  ?),  B.L.      [Apud   hseredes    I. 

ravonis,  Ehotomagi,  1585.]     12mo.     The  work  is  set  dow^n 

by   Eowlands   under   the   year  1584,  who   gives   the   title 

correctly  as  far  as  the  word  dim,  adding,  &c.,  and  "  There  is 

no  author's  name  to  this  book",  showing  that  he  could  not 

have  loohed  into   it    as    far   as  the   preface.     The   preface, 

however,  commences  as  foUows :  and  here  I  am  met,  at  the 

outset,  by  the  bi-lingual  difficulty,  which  has  asserted  itself 

in  so  marked  a  manner  in  the  Principality,  and  which,   I 

fear,  I  can  meet  in  no  other  way  than  by  giving  extracts 

from  the  respective  works  in  both  languages.     The  original 

has: — "Yr  Awdwr  neu  r  Gwr  a  wnaeth  y  Lhyfr  yma 

AT  Ei  Garedigion  Gymry  yn  erchi  phynniant  a  lhwydhi-  ' 

ANT  idhynt."     Wrth  fedhwl  am  fraint  a  bri  ^r  Cymry  gynt, 

a'  i  Ihesced  ai  diystyred  yr  owran,  mae  dolur  a  chlefyd  yn 

magu  yn  fynghallon."     Which  may  be  thus  translated: — 

"  The  author,  or  the  mau  who  made  this  book,  to  his  beloved 

Cymry,  beseeching   success   and  prosperity  for  them.     On 

reflecting  on  the  privilege  and  honour  of  the  Cymry  of  old, 

and  their  dispirited  and  despised  condition  at  present,  pain 

and  sickness  are  fostered  in  my  heart." 


SIXTEENTII   ANU    SEYENTEi^NTII    CENTUIÎIES.  29 

On  page  11  of  tlie  Preface,  tlie  riinnmg  title  of  which  is 
"At  Gymry"  (To  Welshmen)  is  tlie  following :— "  Drych 
Cristianogawl  jt  henwais  i  y  l'yfr  yma  am  fod  pob  Cristiawn 
yn  gal'a  canfod  yndo,  os  mynn,  lun  y  petheii  yssyd  ido  eu 
canlyn  neu  gochel  yn  y  byd  yma,  megis  y  cenfyd  dyn  mywn 
drych  o  wydr  lun  gwrthdrych  y  peth  a  fo  ar  gyfeiryd  y 
drych";  i.e.,  "I  hare  uamed  this  book  the  Christian  Mirror, 
because  every  Christian  may  see  therein,  if  he  will,  the  form 
of  the  things  that  he  is  to  follow  or  to  avoid  in  this  world, 
as  a  man  sees  in  a  glass-mirror  the  opposite  form  of  the 
object  that  is  presented  to  the  mirror." 

The  last  three  paragraphs  run  thus  : — "Hynn  o  damchwain 
0  liw  beiau  a  gasclai  rhyw  fath  ar  dynion  yn  y  l'y  fr  yma  ac 
erail'  ryw  eilun  beieu  o  faith  aral';  Ond  o  chaf  wybod  un 
bai  nag  aral',  mi  a  fydaf  barod  i  yinostwng  ag  i  vfudhau  i'r 
sawl  bynnag  ai  daghosso,  yn  enwedig  o  dihangawd  dim  o'm 
geneu  drwy  aughof  yn  y  l'yfr  yma  a  fo  yn  anghytuno  mywn 
dyal'  a  medwl  a  r  Eglwj's  Gatholic  fy  Mam  sprydol. 

"  M  cheisiaf  na  thal  na  diolch  am  fy  mhoen  am  hewyl'ys 
da,  ond  bod  yn  gyfranol  o  wedi  pob  Cymro  phydlon,  or  a 
gapho  dim  didanwch  na  l'es  yw  enaid  wrth  darl'ain  neu 
glywed  y  l'yfr  hynn. 

"  Duw  a  Mair  gyda  a  chwi  ol',  ag  a  drefno  i  ni  fyw  yma 
ynghorlaii  Crist,  megis  y  gal'om  i  gyd  gyt  gyfwrd  ym  Para- 
dwys  nefawl,  a  theyrnasu  gyd  a  Duw  yn  dragy wydawl.  Amen." 

I.  c,  "  Some  persons  may  gather  faults  of  one  kind  in 
this  book,  and  others  some  appearance  of  faults  of  another 
kind.  But  if  I  get  to  know  one  fault  or  another,  I  shall  be 
ready  to  submit  myself  to  and  obey  anyone,  who3oever  he 
may  be,  that  shall  point  them  out,  especially  if  anything  has 
escaped  frorn  my  lips  through  forgetfuhress,  that  is  dis- 
cordant  in  understanding  and  thought  with  the  Catholic 
Church,  my  spiritual  motlier. 

"  I  shall  seek  neither  pay  nor  thanks  for  my  trouble  and  my 
good-will,  save  to  be  partaker  of  the  prayer  of  every  faithful 


30  WELSH    BOÛKS   PRINTED   ABROAD    IN   TIIE 

Welshman,  wlio  shall  gain  any  comfort  or  benefit  to  his  soul 
by  reading  or  hearing  this  book. 

"  God  and  INIary  be  with  you  all,  and  order  ns  so  to  live 
here  in  the  fold  of  Christ,  as  that  we  may  be  able  to  meet 
together  in  the  heaveuly  Paradise,  and  reign  with  God  for 

ever.     Amen." 

"  0  Fulan,  yr  eidoch, 

"G.  E. 

("  From  Milan,  Yours,  G.  E.")  [Griffith  Eoberts.] 

Then  comes  a  blank  page,  the  next  to  which  begins  as 
follows : — 

"  Yr  Achos  a'r  Modh  Y 
dodwyd  y  Ihyfr  yma  mywn  Print." 

"  Y  mae  blwydhyn  bellach  a  chwaneg  er  pann  dhaeth  i 
m  Ihaw  yn  Nhir  Phreinc  lyfr  Cymbraeg  o  w^aith  yr  Atlu'o 
mawr  o  Dhinas  Fulan  yngwlad  yr  Idal.     Ewylliys  yr  Athro 
ydoedh  dhanfony  lliyfr  mywn  scrifenlaw  i  blith  y  Cymry : 
Am  nad  oedh  dim  modh  yw  brintio  ef  yno  ac  am  fod  y  phord 
yn  rhy  beU  rhy  faith  i  dhanfon  mawr  nifer  o  Ihyfreu  o  r 
Idal  i  wlad  Gymbry :  Ehag  torri  ar  ewylhys  yr  Athro,  mi  a 
dhanfonais  o  Phrainc  i  ynys  Brydain  vn  copi  o'r  l'yfr  mewn 
yscrifen  law^  ag  a  gedwais  gopi  aral'  gyd  a  mi  fy  hunan  yn 
Phrainc.     Yn  y  mann  ar  ol  tirio  'r  Ihyfr  a  dyfod  yn  hoeth 
(sic  for  noeth)  ac  yn  anrhefnus  wedi  ei  wlychu  gann  fordwy 
a  heli,  idhwylo  Cymbry,  cafodh   (fal  y  clywais)  wdsc  yn  ei 
gylch  ai  sychu  ai  ymgledhu  yn  ewyl'ysgar  ag  yn  chwannog 
dhigon.     Yna  cerdhed  a  wnaeth  dros  amser  o  law  i  law  drwy 
aml  faneu  odir  Cymry,  yn  cael  mawrbarch  a  chroeso  ymliob 
mann :  pawb  o  r  a  glywei  son  amdano  yn  chwanog  i  gael 
cydnabod  arno:  rhai  yn  deisyf  ei  dharlhain :  erailh,  yrhai  nis 
medrët  dharlain  yn  damuno  clywed  ei  dharlhein :  y  drydedh 
rann  yn  fodhlon  yw  gopio  ai  scrifennu,  i  gael  aml  gopise  i 
fyned  ar  hyd  y  wdad.    Pann  dhoeth  y  gair  o  hyn  i  dir  Phrainc 


SIXTEENT1I   AND    SEYENTEENTH   CENTURIES.  31 

Ihe  yr  oedliwn  i  yn  trigo,  ef  a  fu  lawen  a  chynes  fynghallon 
wrtli  glywed  chwant  ag  awydh  y  Cymru  i  wrando  cyughor 
sprydol.      Yma  y  tyfodh   gobeilh  mawr  yn  fy  medhwl,  y 
gelhyd  achub  llawer  o  eneidiau  yn  Ghymry  i-hag  discyn  i 
yphern,  pe  y  baei  fod  y  dhàgos  ydhynt  eu  peryglon  sprydol. 
Wrth  fedhwl  am  hyn  ny  fedrwn  i  weled  vn  modh  phrwy  thlon 
gymhwys,  ony  baei  gael  gossod  dodi  i  maes  y  Ihyfr  mywn 
Print.     0  fywn  Deyrnas  ny  welwn  dhim  gobaith  i  gael  nag 
arian,  na  gweithwyr,  na  Ihe  cymhwys  cyfadhas.     Wrth  hir 
fedhwl,  a  gweled  egni  y  Saeson  phydlon  yn  printio  Ihyfreu 
Saesnec  o'r  tu  yma  ir  mor,  mywn  gwledydh  dieithr,  mi  a 
ganfuum  mewn  rheswm  y  galhei  i  Printwyr  o  Phrainc  brin- 
tio  Cymbraeg  yn  gystal  a  Saesnec,  gan  fod  y  dhwy  iaith  yn 
gyfdhieithr  idhynt.     Ac  ynghyferyd  y  mawr  nifer  o  Ihyfreu 
Saesnec  a  ossoded  alhan  er  pan  lygrwyd  Phydh  a  Chrefydh 
yn  ynys  Prydein,  drwy  boen  a  thrafael  y  Saeson  Catholic : 
rhag  cywüydh  a  cholhed  i  holh  Gymry,  cymesur  a  phyrd- 
fertb  y  gwelwn  ossod  a  dodi  alhan  vu  Ihyfr  Cymraec,  gan  fod 
cymeint  o  eiseu  a  r  Cymbry,  mor  chwannoc  i  gael  Ihyfreu,  a 
Duw  wedy  trefnu  Printwyr  mywn  tref  ar  fin  y  mor  yn  barod 
er  cyflog  i  brintio  Cymraec  cystal  a  Saesnec.     Mi  a  gymerais 
amaf  (nid  heb  gyfarch  a  chennad  yr  Athro)  ossod  mewn 
Print  y  Ehan  gyntaf  o'r  tair.    Canys,  megis  y  gelhwch  dhealht 
wrth  lythyr  yr  Athro  o  r  blaen  nid  y w  'r  holh  waith  onyd  vn 
Ihyfr  yn  cynhwys  teir  PJiann :  Ag  os  Duw  a  dheufyn  rhwy- 
dheb  mifì  a  ossodaf  alhan  y  Ehanneu  erailh  yn  gyntaf  a  gal- 
hwyf,  sef  yr  ail  a'r  drybydd  {sic.  for  drydydd)  pob  un  yn  ei 
hordor  ai  gradh.     Lhythrenneu  Seisnic  a  gawson  i  r  gwaith, 
ag  yn  Ihe  y  D.  a  r  L.  dybledigion  y  rhoesom  dh.  ag  Ih.  ar  ol 
arfer  yr  hen  gymreigwyr  gynt,  y  peth  ysydd  wedheidhiach 
na   dyblu'r  Ihythrennau.     Gan  na  fedrem  gael  D.  ag  L.  a 
nodse  danynt  ar  ol  ordor  yr  Athrawaeth  Gristnogawl  a  brin- 
tied  ym  Mulan,  mewn  ymhel'  fanneu  chwychwi  a  gewch  D. 
ag  L.  wedi  eu  nodi  yn  eu  penneu :  a  r  rhai  hyuny  i  gyd  sy  n 


32  WELSH    BOOKS    PPJNTED    ABROAD    IN   TIIE 

arwein  sain  y  Iheilli  ag  yn  arbed  yr  H.  Ag  os  cawn  yn  ol 
liyn  dhigon  o  lionynt  wedi  nodi  yn  eu  penneu,  nyni  a  beidiwn 
yn  gwbl  a  chydiaw  r  H.  gyda  D.  ag  L.  Y  mae  r  gost  a  r 
darul  (sic  by  a  misprint  for  draul)  a  r  boen  yn  fawr  iawn  ag 
yn  flin  :  Am  hynny  i  mae  pob  Cymbro  phydhlon  gar  bron 
Duw  yn  rhwymedig  i  roi  help  a  chanhorthwy  i  r  Gwaith 
drwy  wedhi  a  modheu  erailh,  pawb  yn  ei  radh  a  i  alhu.  Ag 
am  fod  gwyr  äghyfarwydh  anghyfiaeth  mywu  gwlad  dierth 
heb  dhealht  yr  iaith  Gymbraeg  yn  gelhwg  odh  daun  eu  dwylo 
fagad  0  feieu  drwy  gamgymeryd  a  cham  ossod  y  Ihythrenneu, 
a  beieu  erailh  at  hynny :  rhaid  o  madheu  y  fath  feieu  bychan  : 
Gan  na  ellid  cael  petheu  mywn  modh  gwelh  o  dan  dhwylo 
dieithred  anghyfarwydh.  Yn  olaf  peth  ydh  wyf  yn  deisyf  ar 
bob  Cymro  phydhlon  fedhwl  amdanaf  iùeu  yn  ei  wedhi,  a 
chophau  hefyd  yn  i  wedhi  pob  niath  ar  dhyn  o  r  a  fu  o  r  a 
fydh  yn  helpu  r  gwaith  hynn  drwy  gost,  traul,  blinder,  neu 
fodhion  eraüh  yn  y  byd. 

"  0  Dref  Eoan, 

"  Eych  gwladwr  caredig, 
E.  S." 


Translation. 
"  It  is  now  a  year  and  more  since  there  came  into  my 
hand,  in  the  land  of  France,  a  Welsh  book,  the  work  of  the 
great  master  of  the  city  of  JNIilan,  in  the  country  of  Italy. 
It  was  the  master's  wish  to  send  the  book,  in  manuscript, 
among  the  Welsh :  because  there  were  no  meaus  to  print  it 
there,  and  because  the  way  was  too  far  and  tedious  to  send 
a  great  number  of  books  from  Italy  into  the  country  of 
Wales.  Not  to  infringe  the  master's  wish,  I  sent  from 
France  to  the  Isle  of  Britain  one  copy  of  the  book  in 
manuscript,  and  kept  another  copy  with  myself  in  France. 
Immediately  after  travelling,  and  coming  bare  aud  dis- 
ordered,  after  being  wetted  by  the  salt  water,  into  the  hands 


SIXTEENTH    AND    SEYENTEENTH    CENTURIES.  33 

of  tlie  Welsh,  it  oLtained  (as  I  heard;  a  cover  around  it,  and 
was  dried,  and  lovin«^ly  and  eagerly  cared  for.  Then,  for  a 
time,  it  passed  from  hand  to  hand  through  mauy  places  of 
the  land  of  Wales,  receiving  every\vhere  much  reverence 
and  welcome  :  all  who  heard  of  it  being  desirous  of  gaining 
a  knowledge  of  it;  some  desiring  to  read  it;  otliers,  who 
knew  not  liow  to  read,  wishing  to  hear  it  read ;  a  third  part 
content  to  copy  it,  and  write  it,  so  as  to  get  a  nurnher  of 
copies  to  go  ahout  the  country.  When  the  news  of  this 
came  to  France,  where  I  was  residing,  my  heart  was  rejoiced 
and  comforted  to  hear  of  the  zest  and  eagerness  of  the 
Welsh  to  hear  spiritual  counsel.  Then  there  grew  up  in  my 
mind  a  great  hope  that  many  souls  in  Wales  might  be  saved 
from  falling  into  Hell,  if  there  were  a  way  to  point  out  to 
them  their  spiritual  perils.  In  reflecting  on  this,  I  could  see 
no  conrenient  and  fruitful  way,  unless  the  book  could  be 
put  into  and  published  in  print.  Within  the  hingdom  I 
could  see  no  hope  of  obtaining  either  money  or  worknien, 
nor  a  fit  and  suitable  place.  By  long  reflection,  and  seeing 
the  energy  of  tlie  Engiish  faithful  in  printing  English  books 
on  this  side  of  the  sea  in  foreign  lands,  I  conceived  it  within 
reason  that  printers  of  Erance  miglit  be  able  to  print  Welsh 
as  well  as  English,  the  two  tougues  being  equally  strange  to 
them.  And  in  view  of  tlie  great  number  of  Engiish  books 
that  have  been  published  since  Faith  and  Eeligion  were 
corrupted  in  the  Island  of  Britain,  through  tlie  toil  and 
industry  of  the  CathoHc  Engiish :  on  pain  of  shame  and 
loss  to  all  Welshmen,  I  saw  it  expedient  and  honourable  to 
set  fortli  and  pubUsh  one  Welsh  book,  whereof  there  was  so 
much  need,  and  the  Welsh  so  eager  to  get  books,  and  God 
having  provided  printers  on  the  sea-side,  ready  for  hire  to 
print  Welsh  as  well  as  Engiish.  I  have  taken  it  upon  me 
(not  without  the  favour  and  leave  of  the  Master;  to  put  iu 
print  the  first  part  of  tlie  three.  For,  as  you  niay  under- 
VOL.  IV.  i> 


34  WELSH    BOOKS    PRINTED   ABROAD    IN   THE 

stand  by  tlie  l^.Taster's  letter,  tlie  wLole  work  is  but  one  book 
containing  three  parts.^  And  if  God  sliall  send  liberty,  I 
shall  put  forth  the  other  parts  as  soon  as  I  can,  viz.,  the 
second  and  third,  each  in  its  order  and  degree,  We  have 
got  Euglish  letters  for  the  work,  aud  instead  of  the  doubled 
D.  and  L.,  we  have  put  dh.  and  Ih.,  according  to  the  manner 
of  the  old  Welshifiers,  which  is  a  more  proper  tliing  than  to 
double  the  letters.  Since  we  could  not  get  D.  and  L.  with 
marks  nnder  them,  according  to  the  order  of  the  'Athra- 
vaeth  Gristnogavr  (Christian  Instruction),  that  was  printed 
at  Milan,  you  will  fìnd  D.  and  L.  in  several  places  marked 
above ;  and  these  all  carry  the  sound  of  tbe  rest,  and  save 
the  H.  And  if  we  fìnd,  hereafter,  enough  of  them  marked 
above,  we  shall  cease  altogether  to  join  the  H.  with  D.  and 
L.  The  cost,  and  expense,  and  trouble,  are  very  great  and 
burdensome.  Therefore,  every  faitliful  Welshman  is  bound 
to  give  help  and  assistance  to  the  Work  by  prayer  and  otlier 
ways,  every  one  to  his  power  and  degree.  And  as  unskil]ed 
and  unlearned  men,  iu  a  foreign  country,  who  understand 
not  the  Welsh  language,  let  slip  a  heap  of  errors  tlirough 
mistaking  and  mis-setting  the  letters,  and  otlier  faults  be- 
sides :  since  things  could  not  be  had  in  a  better  way,  under 
tlie  hands  of  unskilled  foreigners,  such  petty  faults  must 
needs  be  forgiven.  Last  of  all,  I  desire  every  faithful 
Welshman  to  think  of  me  also  in  his  prayer,  and  to  re- 
member,  too,  in  his  prayer,  every  sort  of  person  tliat  has 
been  or  shall  be  helping  this  work  by  expense,  trouble,  'or 
other  means  whatsoever. 

From  Eouen, 

Your  affectionate  countryman, 

E.  S. 


1  The  First  Part,  whicli  alone  is  printed,  or,  as  far  as  is  now  kno\vn, 
extaut,  is  a  short  treatise  on  tlie  Love  of  God. 


SIXTEENTn    AND    SEYENTEENTH    CENTURIES.  35 

Doubtless,  by  the  iuitials  of  E.  S.,  is  represented  Roger 
Smith,  a  persou  whose  ideutity  would  seem  to  be  enveloped 
iu  not  a  little  mystery.  lu  the  Doiiay  Rccords,  "  Rogerius 
Smithe"  appears  iu  a  list  of  "  Angli  pauperes",  matriculated 
at  that  University  between  1573  aud  1612.  And,  iu  a 
State  paper,  meution  is  made  by  a  spy  of  the  Governmeut 
in  1601,  of  a  priest  then  in  England,  Dr.  Eoger  Smith,  aged 
about  35.  This  person  has  been  confouuded  by  Eowlands, 
the  author  of  the  Cam'brian  Bíbliogra'phy ,  with  George  "W'il- 
liams,  who,  he  says^  adopted  the  name  of  Smith  from  his 
mother,  was  made  LL.B.  and  LL.D.  in  Padua,  in  1567:  held 
several  preferments  in  the  diocese  of  St.  Asaph,  aud  after- 
wards  was  Chaucellor  of  Llandaíí,  and  died  iu  1608.  But, 
as  has  been  shown  by  the  Eev.  D.  Silvan  Evaus  in  his 
annotation  on  page  91  of  that  work,  it  is  impossible  that  he 
could  have  been  the  same  person  as  the  Catholic  Eoger 
Smith,  who,  as  showu  iu  the  same  BibKography,  published 
three  works  successively,  in  Welsh,  in  1609,  1611,  and  1615 
(see  pp.  84,  86,  88),  in  the  titles  of  which  he  is  described  as 
of  St.  Asaph  (Llauelwy),  aud  as  a  ]\Iaster  aud  Doctor  in 
Theology. 

A  short  descriptiou  of  these  works  is  to  be  fouud  iu  the 
Cam'brianBihliography  of  Eowlauds;  but,  as  these  are,  iu  some 
respects,  incomplete,  and  even  inaccurate,  I  propose  to  give 
here  au  accouut  of  them,  together  with  such  additioual  par- 
ticulars  as  I  have  beeu  enabled  to  gather,  not  ouly  as  being 
interestiug  in  themselves,  but  also  in  the  hope  that  it  may 
lead  to  the  discovery  of  copies  of  those  of  the  existence  of 
whicli  I  have,  hitherto,  been  unable  to  fiud  a  trace.  Before 
doing  so,  it  may,  however,  be  useful  to  state  more  particu- 
larly,  what  is  the  precise  nature  of  the  information  derived 
from  the  Preface  to  the  Drych  Gristionogani,  by  Dr.  Eoger 
Smith,  and  what  are  the  points  which  had  been  previously 
in  controversy,  which  it  satisfactorily  clears  up.     In  the  first 

D  2 


36  WELSH    BOOKS   PRINTED   ABROAD   IN    THE 

place,  as  lias  been  already  observed,  it  had  been  asserted 
laany  years  ago,  by  Sir  A.  Panizzi,  the  well-known  Librarian 
of   the   British   Miiseum,  that   tlie    Wdsh  Grammar  of  I)r. 
Grifíìth  Eoberts  could  not  have  been  priuted  in  Italy,  chiefly 
because,  in  the  opinion  of  Sir  A.  Panizzi,  himself  an  Italian, 
the  type,  and  general  style  of  the  letter-press,  differed  essen- 
tially  from  the  type  and  style  of  printing  in  that  country  at 
the  time  of  its  issue.     The  title  of  the  book  runs  as  follows : 
— "  Dosparth  byrr  ar  y  rhann  gyntaf  i  ramadeg  cymraeg  Ue 
cair    llawer  o   bynciau   anhepcor  i  un    a    chwennychai   na 
doedyd  y  gymraeg  yn  ddilediaith,  nai   scrifennu  'n  iawn. 
A  orchfygo  yma,  a  goronir  fry.     1567  Primo  Martij."     ISTow, 
Mediolanum — where,  as  Dr.  John  Dafydh   Ehŷs  states,  in 
the  Preface  to  his  Grammar,  that  this  book  was  printed — is 
not  only  the  ancient  I.atin  name  of  the  city  whose  appellative 
has  been  modernised  into  Milan,  but  was  also  that  of  a  Eoman 
city  aud  fortress  in  Wales,  the  precise  site  of  which  has  long 
been,   and  stiU  is,    a  matter  of  interesting  dispute  among 
learned  antiquaries.      That   this  was   a  moot  point  Sir  A. 
Panizzi,  as  a  foreigner,  would  naturally  have  been  ignorant  at 
the  time  that  he  raised  the  hypothesis ;  which,  had  it  been 
correct,  would  have  sufficed  to  establish  not  only  the  locality 
whence  Dr.  Eoberts'  Grammar  would  have  issued,  but  also 
that  of  the  Eoman  station,  since  it  would  liave  shown  that  a 
place  in  Wales  had  been  known,  to  scholars  at  least,  by  the 
Tiatin  appellation  of  Mediolanura,  as  late   as  the  reign  of 
Queen   Elizabeth !      The   place,   too,   would   have   been   of 
sufficient  importauce  to  have  rejoiced  in  the  possession  of  a 
printing-press.     Unfortunately  for  Sir  A.  Panizzi,  no  print- 
ing-press  is  known  to  have  existed  in  Wales  for  upwards 
of  a  century  after   the  publication   of  the   Grammar:   and 

1  ]Mr.  Richard  WiUiams  (iu  Miiiitgomeryshire  Collections^  v,  393)  has 
given  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  earliest  document  printed  in  Wales  was 
that   entitled   "  News  from   Pembroke  and   Montgouiery ;    or,  üxford 


SIXTEE.NT1I    AND    SEYEÌS'TEENTH   CENTUlíIES.  37 

secoiiflly,  110  town  iii  Wales  is  lcnown  to  lmve  been  found  iii 
legal  or  liistorical  documents  under  the  name  of  Mediolanum 
iu  tliat  country  in  modern  times.  Sir  A.  Paiiizzi,  liowever, 
inay  be  entitled  to  excuse  for  liis  niistake  as  to  tlie  locality 
in  tlie  fact  of  his  being  a  foreigner,  though  scarcely  so  much 
30,  perhaps,  for  his  somewhat  extraordinary  persistency  in 
maintaiuing  it  in  the  face  of  the  opposition  of  those  who 
were  not  merely  well  acquainted  with,  but  actvially  natives 
of  the  Principality.  It  seems  strange,  also,  that  he  should 
have  been  unacquainted  M'ith  Dr.  Gr.  Eoberts'  other  work,  the 
Dì-ycli  Gristnogaiül,  edited  by  Dr.  E.  Smith,  which  niust  have 
been,  at  that  very  time,  iii  tlie  museum  of  which  he  was 
librarian ;  or  if  lie  was,  that  he  sliould  have  found  no  one  to 
translate  for  him  so  much  as  the  Preface,  in  which  he  would 
have  foiind  at  once  tlie  key  to  the  solution  of  tlie  whole  of 
liis  difficulties,  in  the  plaiii,  categorical  statemeut  tliat  it  was 
printed  at  Milan.  And  there  he  would  not  only  have  found 
full  confirmation  of  the  fact  wliich  he,  to  do  him  justice, 
rightly  suspected,  as  to  tlie  foreign  characteristics  of  the 
letterpress,  but  the  variation  also  accounted  for  in  a  simple 
and  natural  manner.  He  would  have  found  that,  to  meet  the 
unexampled  difììculties  of  the  case,  recourse  was  to  be  had  to 
the  invention  of  new  expedients.  The  Italian  type-foundries 
produced  no  sucli  a  letter  as  w,  which  was  unknown  to  the 
language.  The  letter  h  would  also  probably  liave  beeu  scarce 
in  type,  being  in  Italian  less  frequently  in  use.  Dr.  Eoberts 
hit  upon  a  remedy  by  recourse  to  the  method  of  Hebrew, 
and  of  Welsh  orthography,  which  he  liad  seeii,  probably,  in 
some  MSS.  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries.  In  those 
it  had  been  usual  to  distinguish  certain  changes  of  sounds 

Manchester'd  by  Michael  üldsworth  and  his  Lord,  who  swore  he  was 
Chancellor  of  Oxford,  and  proved  it  in  a  Speech  made  to  the  new 
Yiöitors  in  their  new  Coiivocation.  Printed  at  Mountgomery,  1G48." 
A  writer  in  the  "Byegones"  coluran  of  the  O.ncestnj  Adcertisu-  of 
January  1877,  has  suggested  that  the  impriut  may  be  íictitious. 


38  WELSH   BOOKS   PRINTED   ABEOAD   IN   THE 

"by  a  dot  placed  imderneatli  the  simple  form  of  the  letter. 
Thus,  he  conceived  that  the  aspirate,  or  h  sound,  of  //,  wonld 
be  well  expressed  by  a  single  /  dotted  below ;  and  similarly 
th,  or  dd,  the  derived  sounds  of  /,  or  d,  by  a  simple  dotted 
t  or  d.  The  Welsh  vj  was  to  be  represented  by  an  under- 
dotted  M,  or  o ;  and  the  ordinary  sound  of/'by  /j/ì.  Hereby 
a  double  advantage  was  secured :  the  necessity  for  the  use  of 
the  type  representing  h  was  done  away  with,  and  space  was 
econoniised  by  the  reduction  of  the  book  to  a  smaller  com- 
pass.  It  is  proper,  however,  to  mention  that  Dr.  Eoberts 
appears  also  to  have  been  actuated  by  a  further  motive,  less 
admissible,  perhaps,  than  tliat  of  necessity.  He  appears  to 
have  been  desirous  of  falling  back  upon  the  okl  lines,  and 
substituting  the  general  use  of  the  orthography  of  okler 
MSS.  for  that  Avhicli  had  become  familiar  to  his  countrymen 
in  his  oAvn  day.  In  that  it  may  safely  be  asserted  he  was  in 
error.  History  does  not  retrace  her  steps,  although,  from 
another  point  of  view,  it  has  been  rightly  said  that  she 
"  repeats  herself ".  The  orthography  of  every  pure  and  un- 
mixed  language  represents  the  pronunciation  of  tliat  lan- 
guage  in  the  stage  of  advancement  in  knowledge  and  refine- 

o       o  o  o 

ment  which  it  has  actually  reached  at  the  period  of  its 
adoption,  and  the  attempt  to  fall  back  upon  it  is  as  imprac- 
ticable  as  to  make  the  widened  waters  of  the  Thames  or  the 
Dee  to  flow  back  to  their  source  from  their  estuaries  below 
London  or  Chester,  as  to  induce  the  Engiish  or  Cymric 
peoples  to  return  to  the  uncouth  forms  which  were  in  use 
during  the  periods  of  the  gradual  progress  of  transition  of 
their  respectÌYe  languages  towards  the  perfectiou  of  their 
final  development.  If  such  were  the  case,  it  would  be 
equally  proper  for  the  pronunciation  to  fall  back  in  parallel 
lines  with  the  orthography,  and  to  pronounce  words  now 
written  with  th  and  dh,  as  though  they  were  spelt  with  a  / 
and  a  d ;  and  with  a  v,  as  though  they  Avere  written  with  an 


SIXTEENT11    AXD    SEYENTEENTH    CENTUEIES.  39 

/.  Instances  of  signal  failure  of  siieli  attempts  are  to  be 
found  in  that  of  Drs.  Hare  ancl  Thirlwall,  to  revive  old 
Englisli  spelling  in  their  translation  of  Niebuhr's  History  of 
Rome,  in  which,  aniong  other  solecisnis,  the  final  syllable  of 
the  past  tense  of  verbs  was  spelt  with  t,  instead  of  ed  ;  and, 
again,  in  the  well-kno\vn  example  of  the  orthography  adopted 
by  Dr.  Owen  Pughe,  in  his  first  edition  of  the  Welsli  Dic- 
tionary,  in  wliich  we  are  puzzled  to  recognise  syllables 
written  witli  a  z  as  those  to  wliich  we  had  become  familiar- 
ized  from  our  childhood  as  spelt  with  a  dd,  pronounced  by 
us  naturally  as  dh ;  and  again,  in  the  reversion  to  the  v  of 
the  MSS.  of  the  fifteenth  century,  in  Tegid's  edition  of  the 
Worhs  of  Leiuis  Glìjncothi,  for  the  single  /  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  to  which  the  national  eye  aud  ear  had  become  irre- 
Yocably  and  irrecoverably  accustomed  by  the  nineteenth. 
These  learned  and  indefatigable  ^vriters,  to  whora  we  of  this 
generation  niust  feel  ourselves  so  deeply  indebted  for  the 
enlargement  of  our  knowledge  in  Celtic  literature,  would 
seem  to  have  failed  adequately  to  have  imbued  their 
minds  with  the  conception  of  the  fact  that  many  of  the 
words  which  they  found  in  the  ancient  MSS.  written  with  a 
single  /  were  originally  pronounced  with  the  hard  sound  of 
that  letter,  and  that  the  necessity  for  the  double  ff  was 
created  by  the  gradual  softening  of  some  words  so  written 
to  the  pronunciation  of  v,  in  order  to  distinguish  the  latter 
from  those  in  which  the  original  hard  sound  was  retained. 
If  to  this  view  it  be  objected  that  the  orthography  of  the 
double /■  for  /  is  to  be  found  in  Englisli  books  and  wTÌtings 
of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  and  that  in  writing 
English,  the  single  /  has  gradually,  but  at  length  totally 
(with,  perhaps,  the  solitary  exception  of  the  word  of),  been 
substituted  for  the  double  ff,  while  in  Welsh  the  double  / 
has  iDcen  retained  to  this  day,  in  order  to  distinguish  it  from 
the  single/;  the  use  of  which,  in  that  language  only,  is  con- 


40  WELSH   BOOKS   PRINTED   ABROAD   IN   THE 

fined  to  representing  the  sound  of  v;  the  answer  seems  to  be 
that  the  unsightliness,  approaching  often  to  the  grotesque, 
when  the  v  form  is  employed  at  the  end  of  a  word,  has 
rendered  its  use  too  unpalatable  for  general  acceptance,  how- 
ever  plausible,  and  even  scientific,  may  be  deemed  the 
reasons  for  its  adoption  from  a  different  point  of  view.  A 
more  strihing  example,  however,  of  the  sheer  impracticability 
of  maintaining  such  a  system  of  orthography  can  scarcely 
be  furnislied  than  by  the  fact  that  the  system  adopted  by 
Dr.  Griffìth  Eoberts  himself  was,  perforce,  partially  aban- 
doned  by  his  immediate  successor  in  the  printing  of  Welsh 
worhs  abroad,  not  to  say  his  own  devoted  friend  and  adrairer, 
Dr.  Eoger  Sraith,  in  the  edition  of  the  very  next  publication 
to  the  Athrawaeth,  the  Drych  Cristionogaiol,  and  in  the 
apology  which,  as  we  have  seen,  he  has  offered  for  it  in  his 
Preface.  There  he  tells  us  that  he  has  substitated  a  dot 
over,  for  the  dot  under,  the  letters  d  and  / ;  because,  having 
been  at  the  pains  to  procure  English  type,  he  was  unable  to 
obtain  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  latter.  And,  moreover, 
where  his  supply  fell  so  far  short  that  he  was  unable  to 
carry  out  his  own  system  of  over-dotting  the  letters  in  its 
entirety,  he  was  fain  to  introduce  an  h  after  d  and  / ;  and 
that  not  only  for  the  reason  already  given,  but  also  because 
to  his  own  judgment,  this  raetliod  appeared  preferable  to 
that  of  doubling  those  consonants,  which  was  then  coniing 
into  use,  being  more  agreeable  to  the  practice  of  the  ancient 
Welsli  writers :  "  yr  hen  Gymreigwyr  gynt."  Despite  his 
well-raeant  efforts,  ho\vever,  to  counteract  it,  tlie  system  of 
doubling  the  consonants  so  "  mightily  grew  and  prevailed", 
that  it  quickly  superseded  every  other,  and  spread  so  widely, 
that  in  our  own  day  we  find  it  adopted  everywhere ;  and  the 
other — save  in  the  cognate  dialect  of  Gaelic,  and  in  the 
method  of  orthography  introduced  with  equal  failure  of  suc- 
cess  into  Edward  Lhwyd's  Archaeologia  Britannica — nowhere  : 


SIXTEENTH   AND    SEYENTEENTII   CENTUIIIES.  41 

yet,  doiiLtless,  tlie  soft  sonnd  of  th,  as  in  tlie  Englisli 
word  tìw,  is  more  naturally,  as  well  as  scientifically,  repre- 
sented  by  the  nse  of  tlie  trne  syinbol  of  tlie  aspirate  h 
after  d,  as  dh.  The  whole  story  rerainds  ns  of  the  protest 
made  by  classical  scholars  against  the  introduction  of  the 
nse  of  the  word  'telegram'  for  a  message  by  electric  wire; 
.whereas,  the  true  classical  usage  would  have  required  '  tele- 
graphem',  as,  in  fact,  was  abnndantly  proved  by  very  learned 
letters,  pnblished  in  the  Tẁies  and  elsewhere.  The  principle 
of  ntilitarianism  and  expediency  prevailed  over  that  of 
grammatical  correctness,  to  the  trinmph  of  '  telegram'  over 
'  telegraphem',  unless,  indeed,  we  ought  to  call  in  Professor 
Ehŷs  to  assist  ns,  who  might  possibly  refer  ns,  for  the  true 
explanation  of  the  seeming  incongruity,  to  the  priuciple  of 
'  phonetic  decay'." 

To  revert,  however,  to  Dr.  Eoger  Smith's  Preface,  from 
which  we  gather  information  on  another  important  point, 
namely  the  original  scope  of  the  "  Drych".  Of  this  he  tells  ns 
that  the  MS.  sent  him  by  its  author,  Dr.  G.  Eoberts,  con- 
sisted  of  three  parts,  the  two  latter  of  wliich  he  purposed  to 
bring  out  as  soon  as  he  conld ;  a  purpose,  however,  which,  as 
far  as  we  know,  lie  never  was  able  to  effect,  as  nothing  what- 
ever,  up  to  this  time  at  least,  appears  to  be  hnown  of  their 
existence.  The  first  part  consists  of  about  seventy  pages, 
and  is  a  treatise,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  hitherto  to  ascer- 
tain  from  a  cursory  examination,  on  the  Love  of  God.  It 
is  still  possible,  but  scarcely  it  is  to  be  feared  probable,  that 
the  other  two  should  be  brought  to  light  at  tbis  distance  of 
time,  unless,  indeed,  copies  may  have  providentially  been  pre- 
served  in  MS.  in  the  public  or  other  library  in  ]\Iilan. 

Of  tlie  author,  Dr.  Grifíith  Eoberts,  it  is  disappointing  to 
find  tliat  so  little  information  is  forthcoming.  Canon  Wil- 
liams,  in  hìs,  Didionary  of  Eminent  Welshmcn,  tells  us  that 
he  was  "  a  learned  gramraarian,  of  whoni  nothing  further  is 


42  WELSH   BOOKS   PRINTED   ABROAD    IX   THE 

kuowii  tlian  tliat  he  was  educated  at  tlie  uuiversity  of 
Sieuua  in  Italy,  under  the  patronage  of '  William  Herbert, 
Earl  of  Pembroke,"  but  gives  no  authority  for  the  statement. 
Eowlands,  in  the  Camhrian  Bihliofjraphy,  following  appa- 
rently  jNIoses  Williaras,  calls  him,  "  Grifíìth  Eoberts,  Esq., 
M.D.,  i.  e.  Doctor  of  Medicine;  but  this  is  clearly  apocryphaL 
Eowlands'  editor,  the  Eev.  D.  Silvan  Evans,  aunotating  this, 
has  succeeded  in  eliciting  a  ray  of  light  to  throw  on  this  dark 
subject  from  a  paper  in  the  Harlcian  Miscellanij  (vii,  132), 
where  it  is  said  that  he  was  Confessor  to  Cardinal  (St.  Charles) 
Borromeo  at  IMilan  ;  and  Dr.  E.  Smith  confirms  this  bv  call- 
ing  him  iu  his  Preface,  "  yr  Athro  niawr  o  Dhinas  Fulan 
yngwlad  yr  Idal",  the  great  Master  of  the  City  of  ]\Iilan  in 
the  land  of  Italy,  proving  the  liigh  estimation  he  was  held  in 
for  his  learning,  and  also,  perhaps,  for  his  piety.  On  refer- 
ence  to  the  Miscellany,  the  statement  appears  iu  a  tract 
printed  in  London  in  1590,  with  a  very  loug  title,  headed 
"  The  English  Eomayn  Life",  etc,  "  Written  by  A.  M.,  some- 
time  the  Pope's  SchoUer  in  the  Seminary  among  them." 
A.  M.  was  a  person  named  Antony  Munday,  one  of  those  dis- 
reputable  spies,  in  which  capacity  he  must  have  been  a  scholar, 
if  at  all,  in  the  pay  of  Elizabeth's  ministers,  employed  to 
ferret  out  information  respecting  tlie  Catholics  abroad  in 
exile  for  their  religion,  with  the  view  to  found  evidence 
against  tliem  upon  it  in  the  event  of  their  return  to  England, 
and  described,  as  stated  in  a  note  by  an  opponent  of  his,  as 
having  been  "  íìrst  a  stage-player,  after  an  apprentice,  which^ 
time  he  wel  served  with  deceaving  of  his  master ;  then  wan- 
dering  towards  Italy,  by  his  own  report  became  a  cosener  in 
his  journey.  Coming  to  Eome,  in  his  short  abode  there,  was 
charitably  relieved,  but  never  admitted  in  the  seminary  (as 
he  pleaseth  to  lye  in  the  title  of  his  book)."  His  narrative 
contains  (to  say  the  least)  monstrous  and  incredible  exagge- 
rations,  of  a  character  similar  to  those  proved  in  the  case  of 


SIXTEEXTH    AND    SEYENTEENTH   CENTURIES.  43 

otliers  of  liis  class  to  have  been  invented  by  tliem  for  tlie 
purpose  of  pleasing  tlieir  employers,  such  as  we  may  well 
Lelieve  that  which  he  relates  of  Dr.  Grifdth  Eoberts,  to  the 
effect  that  he  spoke  to  him  of  plots  and  treasons  against  the 
Queen  of  Engiand,  in  language  which  might  "  move  a  heart 
of  adamant".  His  statement,  therefore,  that  Dr.  Eoberts  was 
St.  Charles'  confessor,  and  lodged  in  his  palace,  perhaps  may 
require  confìrmation,  but  there  is  nothing  improbable  in  the 
short  account,  at  least,  which  he  gives  of  his  reception  at 
]\Iilan  in  these  words  : — "  From  thence  (viz.,  Lyons)  we  went 
to  MiUaine ;  where,  in  the  Cardinall  Borromeo's  palace,  we 
found  the  lodging  of  a  Welshman,  named  doctor  Eobert  Griffin; 
a  man  there  had  iu  good  account,  and  confessor  to  the  afore- 
said  cardinall.  By  him  we  were  very  courteously  entertained, 
and  sent  to  the  house  of  an  English  priest  in  the  city  named 
Maister  Harries,  who  likewise  bestowed  on  us  very  gentle 
acceptaunce  ;  as  also  three  Engiish  gentlemen  who  lay  in  his 
house."  In  the  prefatory  notice  of  another  work  by  Dr. 
Eoger  Smith,  which  will  be  referred  to  presently,  he  states 
that  Dr.  Griffith  Eoberts  was  Canon  Theologian  in  the  Cathe- 
dral  Church  at  Milan,  which  so  far  is  corroborative  of  the 
probability  of  Munday's  assertion. 

ISTow,  with  regard  to  the  Athrawaeth,  it  will  have  been 
naturally  supposed  that,  because  Dr.  Eoger  Smith  refers  to 
the  work  as  having  been  printed  and  published  at  Milan, 
where  Dr.  Gr.  Eoberts  resided,  Dr.  Eoberts  is  therefore  to  be 
also  accredited  with  its  authorship.  This  would,  however, 
be  an  entirely  erroneous  supposition ;  for,  in  the  fìrst  place, 
Dr.  Smith  has  himself  abstained  from  malcing  any  such 
assertion ;  and,  secondly,  the  authorship  is  expressly  dis- 
claimed  in  his  preface  to  that  work,  by  Dr.  Eoberts  himself. 
It  commences  with  an  address  to  Dr.  Morris  Clynog,  in  these 
words: — "  Gruphyd  fab  Ehobert  yn  annerch  yr  hyparch 
brelad,  ai  dibal  {foi-  ddibaU)  gynheiliad  M.  Morys  Clynoc :  ag 


44  WELSH    BOOKS   PRINTED   ABEOAD    IN    TIIE 

yn  erclii  iJo  gaii  diiu,  gymiyd,  ras  a  deduduch  enaid,  a  chorph." 
— "  Griffith,  son  of  EoLert,  greetinff  the  Eight  Eeverend 
Prelate,  and  his  unfailing  supporter,  jMaster  Morys  Clynog : 
and  beseeching  for  liim  l'roni  God  increase,  grace,  and  hap- 
piness  of  soul  and  body."  And  he  procceds  as  foUows,  in 
words  of  which  it  will  be  necessary  to  give  a  translation 
only : — "  After  I  had  read  your  book  of  Christian  Indrnction, 
and  seen  therein,  as  it  were,  tlie  germ  of  every  point  that 
might  be  seiwiceable  to  a  Christian,  for  the  saving  of  his 
soul,  made  by  God  after  His  own  image  and  likeness,  which 
Christ  has  purchased  Avith  His  precious  Blood :  my  heart 
was  rejoiced  to  see  so  precious  a  treasure  in  tlie  "Welsh 
language ;  tlie  need  being  so  great  of  direction  in  the  way  of 
Clmst  generally  among  our  countrymen  and  the  children 
crying  for  bread  (as  the  prophet  cries  out),  with  no  one 
that  wiU  break  and  give  it  to  theni,  except  it  be  poisoned. 
Wherefore,  since  you  have  gathered  together,  and  arrauged 
so  methodically  and  clearly  so  many  ílowers,  and  saving 
points  of  doctrine,  to  direct  one  who  shouhl  desire  to  know 
the  office  and  duty  of  a  joerfectly  faithful  (perpheithgred) 
Christian,  to  learn  what  wiU  gain  Heaven,  what  wiU  cast  a 
man  into  heU,  what  wiU  please  God,  and  M'hat  wiU  anger 
Him :  the  filthiness  of  sin,  and  the  exceUence  of  virtue ;  I 
had  no  heart  to  do  otherwise  than  to  cause  it  to  be  printed : 
tliat  others,  who  stand  in  need  of  such  spiritual  sustenance, 
may  be  partakers  of  the  banquet  which  you  have  prepared 
for  them.  I  hope  that,  wlien  it  comes  into  the  hands  of 
reUgious  Welshmen,  it  wiU  do  them  much  benefìt,  by  direct- 
ing  them  to  Paradise,  and  turning  them  from  the  road  to  HeU. 
My  heart  is  fiUed  with  pity  wlien  I  think  how  many  childreu 
throughout  the  land  of  Wales,  of  exceUent  abiUty,  and  dis- 
position  for  being  exceUent  men,  faiUng,  and  taking  an 
ungodly  path  for  want  of  being  directed  in  learning  from 
their  childhood,   and  being  brought  up  iu  the  practice  of 


SIXTrKXTII    AXD    SEVENTEEXTII    CEXTURIES.  45 

morality.  Tlie  greatest  cause  of  tliis  is  tlie  waut  of  books 
tliat  treat  of  the  like  kno\vledge.  I3ut  now  you  liave  given 
theni,  in  a  few  pages,  assistance  and  lielp  against  tliis  need. 
For  in  this  l)ook  of  yours  they  will  be  tauglit  easily,  in  a 
little  tinie,  and  with  little  help,  and  at  less  cost,  the  things 
that  are  necessary  both  for  old  and  young  to  know.  For 
who  is  he  that  shall  be  able  to  say  that  he  is  a  Christian, 
unless  he  knows  how  he  is  to  believe  in  Clirist,  what  he  is 
to  hope  from  Him,  and  what  He  has  commanded  liini  to 
keep ;  what  He  has  forbidden  him  to  do,  what  will  gain 
reward,  and  what  wiU  deserve  punishment  ?  So  that  when 
tlie  Welshmen  who  love  their  souls  consider  how  indis- 
pensable  these  things  are,  and  how  easy  to  learn,  l>y  reading 
this  treatise,  they  will  abandon  their  slothful  sitting  at  ease, 
and  their  embittering  obscenity,  and  their  light  carousing 
(unless  they  are  drowned  in  the  filthiness  of  sin),  and  will 
devote  themselves  to  learn  spiritual  things,  profitable  to  the 
soul.  And  this  they  wiU  fínd  in  no  other  spot  in  the  world, 
so  short,  so  orderly,  so  clear  to  be  understood,  as  in  tliis  book 
of  yours.  For  it  was  impossible  to  be  comprised  in  fewer 
words,  and  arranged  more  lucidly,  and  to  have  so  many 
points  more  appropriately  presented,  or  of  so  deep  a  signifi- 
cation ;  so  that  the  children  and  the  wonien  may  understaud 
them  happily  throughout  Wales,  if  tliey  continue  in  every 
church  attending  the  service,  hearing  the  Mass ;  at  home, 
amidst  the  family,  to  divert  the  time,  and  in  every  assembly 
to  comfort  the  people,  to  read  these  or  the  like  sentences, 
and  put  away  old  idle  tales,  and  lying,  flattering  poems. 
But  freely  will  the  Holy  Ghost  give  grace  to  them  to  receive 
instruction,  as  He  gave  it  to  you  to  write  to  them.  I  will 
send  this  among  them,  beseeching  God,  in  every  prayer  that 
I  make,  to  prepare  tlieir  hearts  to  receive  instruction,  and  to 
give  you  also  strength  to  write  more  for  profit  to  Christians, 
and  glory  to  God.  •  .* 

(From  the  town  of  ^Milan,  Eve  of  St.  Nicholas.)" 


46        WELSH  BOOKS  PRINTED  ABEOAD  IN  THE 

The  date  of  tlie  year  appears  in  anotlier  colophon  at  the 
end  of  tlie  book,  "  Ymylen.  15G8.  dyuguyl.  S.  Nicolas." 
At  Milan,  1568,  Feast  of  S.  Nicholas. 

The  author,  Dr.  jMorris  Clynog,  was,  for  a  short  tinie,  the 
Eector  of  the  English  College  at  Eome.  About  the  year 
1576,  Pope  Gregory  XIII  had  designed  to  combine  the  ancient 
English  hospital  for  pilgrims,  which  liad  been  founded  by 
Ethelwolf,  one  of  our  Anglo-Saxon  kings,  and  father  of 
Alfred  the  Great,  with  a  new  college  or  seminary  for 
students,  destined  to  work  and  suffer  for  the  preservation 
of  the  ancient  Catholic  faith  in  England  ;  and  in  the  course 
of  three  years,  twenty-two  students  had  been  sent  to  it  from 
the  UnÌYersity  at  Douai,  by  Cardinal  Allen.  In  1578,  Dr. 
Maurice  Clynog  was  elected  warden  of  the  Engiish  hospital, 
and  appointed  by  the  Pope  rector  of  the  seminary.  Canon 
Williams,  in  his  Dictionary  of  Eminent  Wcíslimen,  quoting 
the  Ai]icn[&  Oxonienses  of  Anthony  A.  Wood,  tells  us  that 
he  had  been  admitted  B.C.L.  of  the  University  of  Oxford  in 
1548  ;  "  he  obtained  thesinecure  rectory  of  Corwen,  in  Meri- 
onethshire,  in  1556  ;  aud  was  made  prebendary  of  York,  and 
an  oíìfìcer  in  tlie  Prerogative  Court,  under  Cardinal  Pole, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  Not  long  after  the  death  of 
Dr.  AYiUiam  Glynn,  Bishop  of  Bangor,  who  died  in  May 
1558,  Queen  Mary  nominated  him  to  succeed  in  this  See; 
but  she  dying  before  he  was  consecrated  thereto,  he,  with 
Goldwell,  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  fled  beyond  the  sea".  From 
the  "  Historical  Introduction",  by  Dr.  Thomas  Erancis  Ivnox, 
of  the  London  Oratory,  to  the  Records  of  tlic  English  Catlio- 
lics  under  tlic  Penal  Laws,  published  in  London  in  1878, 
"  chieíìy  from  the  Archives  of  the  See  of  Westminster",  we 
learn  that  at  Christmas,  1578,  the  Pope  issued  a  brief,  com- 
manding  aU  the  old  chaplaius  to  depart  within  íîfteen  days, 
and  assigning  all  the  rents  of  the  hospital  to  the  new  college. 
On   Eebruary    18,    1579,   it   contained   forty-two    students. 


S1XTEENTII    AND    SEYENTEENTH   CENTÜRIES.  47 

"  But  (proceeds  Dr.  Knox)  tlie  prosperity  of  tliese  early  days 
was  soon  interrupted  by  internal  dissensions,  and  the  new 
foundation  was  in  great  danger  of  perishing  in  its  infancy. 
The  cause  of  this  was  the  natioual  rivahy  and  jealousy 
of  the  Enghsh  and  "Welsh  studeuts.  To  govern  a  college, 
which  contained  members  of  these  two  nations,  required  the 
greatest  prudeuce  and  impartiality.  Unfortunately,  the 
rector,  Dr.  Maurice  Clenoch,  was  deíìcient  in  both  these 
qualities.  He  was,  according  to  Allen,  a  very  honest  and 
friendly  inan,  and  a  great  advancer  of  the  students'  and 
seminary's  cause.  But  he  was  a  Welshman,  and  tlie  English 
students  considered  that  he  sliowed  undue  favour  to  his  own 
countrymen.  '  He  had  admitted  there',  Allen  says  (in  a 
letter  to  Dr.  Owen  Lewis,  another  Welshman)  'sent  for  and 

called  for  two  up  to  tlie  seminary sonie  of  his   own 

country  foll^s  and  friends,  for  age,  quality  and  institution, 
unfit  for  the  study  and  the  semiuary.  Tlie  English  in  the 
colleíre  were  thirtv-three,  or  more,  to  seven  Welshmeu. 
]\Iurmurs  and  complaints  were  heard  among  them,  until,  at 
last,  they  brohe  out  in  open  mutiny,  and  declared  to  the 
Oardinal,  their  protector,  aud  the  Pope,  that  tliey  would 
leave  Rome  in  a  body,  and  beg  their  way  home,  if  necessary, 
unless  some  other  rector  wtre  appointed  in  Dr.  01enock's 
place.'" 

On  April  23rd  of  that  year  his  successor  was  appointed. 
We  are  not  concerned  here  to  enter  into  the  merits  of  the 
questiou  raised  by  the  English  students  of  tlie  OoUege, 
which  certainly  bears  very  niuch  the  appearance  of  a  "  tem- 
pest  in  a  teapot",  or  a  molehill  exaggerated  to  the  diraensions 
of  a  mountain.  It  may,  however,  be  observed  that  Dr. 
Maurice  would  appear  to  have  met  with  but  scant  justice, 
and  this  view  of  the  matter  would  seem  to  be  borne  out  by  that 
of  the  Pope,  and  the  Oardinal  Protector  of  the  Oollege,  who  at 
first  did  all  in  their  power  to  repress  the  movement,  and 


48        WELSH  BOOKS  PRINTED  ABROAD  IN  THE 

fiually  yielcled  oiily  when  to  give  way  seenied  necessary  to 
preveut  its  total  disruption,  for  tlie  sole  reason  tliat  tbe 
Eector  had  exhibited  a  by  no  meaus  uuuatural  feeling  of 
lcinduess  towards  a  few  of  his  poor  couutrymen,  who  were  in 
a  suiall  minority,  aud  would  scarcely  have  íelt  themselves  at 
home  amoug  so  many  strangers.  The  Eecords  of  the  Col- 
leges  at  Douay,  Eheims,  aud  elsewhere,  exhibit  the  names  of 
a  A^ery  large  proportion  of  Welshmeu,  niauy  of  whom 
encouutered  bravely  the  fierce  persecution  with  which  they 
were  met  ou  their  returu  to  their  country,  aud  eudured  the 
martyrdom  of  the  rack,  the  cord,  and  the  disembowelling 
knife,  iu  a  spirit  of  no  less  uufliucing  courage  and  con- 
stancy  thau  their  Euglish  brethren.  The  composition  of  the 
Athrawaeth  belongs  to  a  date  some  ten  years  prior  to  the 
iucideut  iu  questiou,  aud  is  therefore  historically  importaut 
as  proviug  the  2eal  aud  capacity  of  its  author  for  the  im- 
portant  post  for  which  he  was  selected.  The  two  iucideuts 
taken  together  teud  to  show  how  naturally  it  would  have 
occurred  to  liim  to  forward  the  little  work  to  Dr.  Eoberts 
from  his  resideuce  at  Eome,  where  its  publicatiou  would  be 
obviously  less  easy  thau  at  ]\Iilau,  where  tlie  Grammar  most 
likely  had  been  priuted  already.  The  circumstauces  point 
as  naturally  to  the  suggestion  to  the  mind  of  Dr.  Eoberts  of 
the  compositiou  of  the  Drych  Cristioîwgawl,  or  Christian 
Mirror,  as  a  sequel  to  the  Äthrawaeth,  or  Catechism.  The 
oue  is  elementary  and  catechetical,  the  other  spiritual  aud 
contemplative :  the  one  lays  the  fouudation  in  the  doctrines 
of  the  Faith ;  the  other  builds  up  the  superstructure  as  au 
iucentive  to  piety  aud  devotion. 

Dr.  Eoberts  theu  set  himself  cheerfully  to  the  task ;  it 
was  a  labour  of  love — of  Christian  charity,  and  of  patriot- 
ism;  aud,  so  far  as  the  composition  went,  it  was  speedily 
aud  successfuUy  acconiplished.  But  a  difficulty — and  that 
the  greatest  one,  remained — ho^v  was  tlie  book  to  be  printed  ? 


SIXTEEXT1I   ANU    SEYENTEENTII   CENTUlílES.  49 

and  when  printed,  liow  to  be  circulated  among  those  for 
whose  good  it  was  designed  ?  The  labour  and  cost  of  print- 
ing  in  Italy  had  proved  an  over-match  for  the  author's 
resources,  in  the  case  of  comparatively  so  sraall  a  work  as 
the  Athrawaetli :  they  would  surely  prove  incommensurate 
with  the  larger  proportions  of  the  Drych.  In  his  extremity, 
Dr.  Eoberts  would  appear  to  have  resigned  himself  to  what 
he  deemed  to  be  inevitable ;  and  to  have  applied  to  one  who 
afterwards  showed  himself  a  most  able,  zealous,  and  per- 
severing  coadjutor,  in  the  work  of  supplying  books  of  reli- 
gious  instruction  to  their  suffering  countrymen.  This  was 
Dr.  Eoger  Smith,  a  priest,  and  Doctor  in  Divinity,  then  in 
France.  His  first  idea  seems  to  have  been  to  provide  for 
the  transmission  of  his  work,  in  MS.,  across  the  Channel,  and 
its  being  thus  providentially  preserved  for  the  benefit  of  his 
poor  countrymen  in  Wales.  This  was  accordingly  done ;  and 
the  volurae  became  so  much  prized  among  them,  that  it  was 
at  length  absolutely  worn  away  by  the  friction  it  had  to 
undergo  in  passing  from  hand  to  hand.  A  multiplication  of 
copies  was,  therefore,  of  urgent  necessity.  "  Necessity  is  the 
mother  of  invention";  and  Dr.  Smith  hit  upon  the  expe- 
dient — not,  indeed,  of  setting  up  a  printing-press  for  himself, 
but  of  availing  himself  of  the  services  of  men  skilled  in  the 
art  nearer  home.  From  the  manner  in  which  he  refers  to 
this,  there  can  be  little  doubt  he  must  ]iave  had  the  help  of 
one,  to  whom  he  seems  to  allude  indirectly  when  he  speaks 
of  Englishmen  abroad  who  had  Engiish  books  printed  for 
their  countryraen,  and  wliose  energy  and  devotion  to  the 
work  would  have  equalled,  if  not  exceeded,  his  own.  A 
printing-press  had  been  established  at  Rouen,  specially  for 
this  purpose,  by  the  celebrated  Father  Parsons,  whose 
famous  work,  Tlie  Booh  of  the  Resolutíon,  or  TJie  Christian 
Directory,  was  printed  there,  possibly  in  1583  or  1584,  but 
certainly  not   later  than   1591 ;  and   has    gone  through  at 

VOL.  IV.  E 


50  WELSH   BOOKS   PRINTED   ABROAD   IN   THE 

least  eleven  editions  in  English  down  to  the  year  1842,  of 
which  five  were  printed  in  fifteen  years,  from  1583  to  1598. 
And  here  I  regret  that  truth,  and  the  natiire  of  my  subject, 
compel  me  to  advert  to  a  proceeding  on  the  part  of  the 
learned  author  of  the  Lexicon  Lingum  Cambro-BritannicíB, 
Dr.  Davies  of  Mallwyd,  which  appears  scarcely  defensible 
in  respect  of  either  justice  or  ingenuousness,  or  becoming 
to  the  character  for  piety  and  learning,  with  which  he  has 
been  commonly,  and  to  a  great  extent,  doubtless  justly 
credited.  It  is  now  more  than  thirty  years  ago  that,  having 
seen  in  the  catalogue  of  a  London  Welsh  bookseller,  among 
other  rare  volumes,  one  entitled  Llìjfr  y  Resolusion,  I  rushed 
to  the  conclusion  that  this  could  be  no  other  than  the  work 
of  Father  Parsons  in  a  Welsh  dress,  and  I  hastened  to  pos- 
sess  myself,  at  considerable  cost,  of  the  volume.  But  great 
was  my  disappointment  to  discover,  on  comparing  this  Welsh 
translation  with  the  original,  that,  although  the  titles  were 
partly  identical,^  at  least  in  substance,  the  form  and  matter 
of  the  body  of  the  work  were  essentially  diíîerent:  con- 
taining  a  certain  groundwork  of  the  original,  of  which  it 
is  to  a  certain  extent  a  compendium  and  a  paraphrase,  but 
on  the  whole  a  very  different  composition  from  that  to  which 
its  first  conception  was  entirely  due.  Nor  does  it  contain 
the  slightest  reference  to,  or  acknowledgment  of  its  original 

1  The  title  of  the  Welsh  (so-called  Translation)  is,  when  done  into 
English,  "  The  Book  of  the  Resohition,  which  teaches  us  all  to  do  our 
best,  and  to  give  our  whole  minds  and  thoughts  to  the  being  true 
Christians,  that  is,  on  forsaking  our  evil  life,  and  turning  to  goodness 
and  godliness.  Translated  into  Welsh  by  J.  D.,  for  the  benefit  of  his 
parishioners.  And  printed  in  London  at  the  house  of  John  Beale,  for 
the  same  J.  D.,  1632".  The  title  of  the  original  work  is  "  The 
Christian  Directory,  Guiding  Men  to  their  Eternal  Salvation.  In  Two 
Parts  :  The  First  whereof  appertains  to  Resolution  :  The  Second  treat- 
ing  of  the  Obstacles  and  Impediments  which  hinder  it,  and  How  they 
may  be  removed.  To  which  is  prefixed  a  brief  method  for  its  use.  By 
the  Ilev.  Robert  Parsons,  Priest  of  the  Society  of  Jesus." 


SIXTEENTII    AND    SEYENTEENTII    CENTLlíIES.  ftl 

autlior,  Tlie  writer  merely  says,  in  his  Preface  addressed  to 
his  dear  parishioners,  "  Although  I  hav'e  been  absent  frora 
you  but  seldom,  and  this  most  freiiuently  on  business  per- 
taining  to  the  salvation  of  yourselves  und  others  of  God's 
people ;  still,  in  order  to  make  you  some  compensation  for 
this  neglect,  I  have  translated  for  you  iuto  Welsh  tliis  book 
that  foUows,  which,  in  my  opinion,  is  one  of  the  best  books 
to  teach  men  to  abandon  their  evil  life,  and  turn  to  God". 
"  One  of  the  best  books",  he  says,  and  yet  he  gives  not  the 
honour  to  whom  honour  is  due,  but  hides  from  theni  tlie 
name  of  the  real  author.  He  did  not  thus  treat  Dr.  Thomas 
Williams,  to  whom  he  candidly  acknowledges  himself  in- 
debted  for  the  principal  part  of  his  Dictionary,  printed  in 
the  very  same  year :  to  what,  then,  are  \ve  to  attribute  the 
diíference  ?  It  seems  difficult  to  escape  the  conclusion  that 
he  intended  thereby  to  conceal  the  Catholic  authorship  of 
this  "excellent"  work  from  those  of  his  countrymen  who 
were  ignorant  of  its  existence ;  while,  by  adopting  a  part  of 
the  title  of  the  original,  he  lioped  to  induce  those  Catholics 
who  might  be  already  acquaiuted  witli  it,  to  accept  tlie  book 
in  the  ready  confidence  that  it  emanated  from  one  of  their 
own  faitli.  This,  it  seems  to  me,  is  the  only  inference  to 
be  drawn  from  the  foot-note  to  the  learned  annotation  to  the 
notice  of  the  work  in  the  Camhnan  Bihliography,  by  Mr. 
Silvan  Evans,  wlio  says,  "  There  is  no  disputing  that  Dr. 
John  Davies  of  ÌMallwyd  \\as  the  translator.  It  appears 
that  he  took  the  edition  of  Edmuud  Buny  to  translate  from, 
who  was  a  Protestant,  and  who  made  many  alterations  in 
tlie  original  work  of  Parsons,  in  order  to  accommodate  it  to 
Protestant  use.  There  is  now  before  me  an  impression  of 
the  original  work,  published  after  the  appearance  of  the 
altered  impression  of  Buny,  in  the  preface  to  which  tlie 
author  (Father  Parsons)  rates  this  man  in  a  very  extra- 
ordinary  manner  for  liis  audacity  in  altering,  and,  as  he  says, 

e2 


52  WELSII    BOOKS   PRINTED    ABROAD    IN   THE 

injuring  his  work."  Wliy  Mr.  Evans  shoiüd  call  F.  Parsons' 
rating  "  extraordinary"  does  not  very  readily  appear,  as 
from  his  description  of  the  work,  a  niore  impudent  fabri- 
cation  than  tliis  (which  was  dedicated  to  Sandys,  the  Pro- 
testant  Archbishop  of  York)  seems  never  to  have  been  con- 
cocted  by  any  man,  notwithstanding  that  was  by  no  means 
an  uncommon  method  in  those  days,  as  it  unhappily  is  still, 
and  by  those  who  should  know  better,  of  dealing  with  ca- 
tholic  books.  r.  Parsons  says,  "  I  found  the  booke  so  much 
altered  and  mangled,  both  in  wordes,  phrase,  sentence,  and 
substance,  as  scarcely  could  I  know  it  to  be  mine".  He 
then  goes  on  to  show  "how  poore  and  barren  these  new 
doctors  are  of  all  spirituall  doctrine,  tending  to  good  life  and 
reformation  of  manners,  seeing  they  are  content  to  use  and 
pervert  our  boohes  for  some  shew  thereof '.  Then  he  exposes 
Luther,  and  Zuinglius,  and  Beza,  who  charged  each  otlier 
with  "  the  wiched  fraud",  as  Luther  himself  terms  it,  "  of 
corrupting  other  men's  books";  and  also  the  many  wretched 
devices  used  by  Buny  to  falsify  the  text  of  his  books,  by 
mistranslating  the  Fathers,  by  shipping,  inserting,  misre- 
presenting,  all  of  which  occupies  several  pages  of  the  pre- 
face;  ending  with  a  commentary  of  the  "  pacifìcation" 
tacked  on  by  Buny  to  the  Besolution,  which  he  complains  of 
as  being  the  reverse  of  "  pacifìcatory",  as  did  Dr.  ISÍewman 
of  Dr.  Pusey^s  Eirenicon,  that  his  olive-branch  was  "  shot 
from  a  catapult'^ 

"  The  Welsh  translation  does  not  at  all  accord,"  says  Mr. 
Evans,  "  with  this  Popish  impression.  It  is  probable  that 
Dr.  Davies  saw  this  book  through  the  press  when  he  was  in 
London  for  the  purpose  of  printing  the  DictionarT/ ;  for  it  is 
seen  that  the  two  works  appeared  within  the  same  year." 

But  it  appears  further  from  Eowlands'  Annotation  (and 
this  constitutes  my  main  reason  for  alluding  here  to  the 
subject)  that  the  work  of  F.  Parsons  had  been  previously 


SIXTEENTH    AND   SEYENTEENTII    CENTÜIÍIES.  53 

translated  into  Welsh,  and  tliat  by  a  Catliolic.  "It  appears", 
lie  says,  "  to  have  been  translated  also  in  1591  by  oue  Robert 
Gwinn,  or  Gwynn,  of  whom  it  is  said  that  he  was  a  native,  or 
a  friar,  of  Wales,  and  that  he  was  educated  at  Oxford,  where 
he  graduated  as  B.A.in  15G8;  and  on  leaving  the  University  he 
went  to  Douay,  and  "was  admitted  a  inember  of  the  college 
there,  distinguishing  himself  in  divinity.  After  this  he  came 
to  Wales,  and  settled  as  a  münkish  priest,  and  wrote  several 
Welsh  books.  It  is  possible  that  an  old  translation  of  this 
man's  work  may  have  come  into  Dr.  Davies'  hands,  and  tliat 
he,  according  to  his  own  fancy,  made  such  improvements  and 
alterations  in  it,  that,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Dictionary,  he 
thought  he  might  call  it  a  new  translation  of  his  own." 
This  priest,  the  Itev.  Eobert  Gwyn,  is  not  to  be  confounded 
with  the  Eobert  Gwyn,  or  White,  as  he  is  more  commonly 
called,  who  was  born  at  Llanidloes,  in  Älontgomeryshire,  and 
was  afterwards  a  schoolmaster,  and  on  false  testimony,  after 
a  long  imprisonment  at  Euthin,  was  condemned  and  cruelly 
executed  at  Wrexham,  in  1586,  for  his  constancy  in  main- 
taining  the  Catholic  faith.  On  turning  to  the  Douai 
Becords,  I  find  that,  in  the  year  1571,  were  immediately 
admitted  into  this  college,  on  comiug  from  England,  two 
graduates  of  Oxford,  spruug  from  the  nation  of  ancient 
Britous,  who  devoted  themselves  here  to  the  study  of  sacred 
tlieology.  "  Statim  iu  hoc  Collegium  admissi  suut  ex  Angliâ 
venientes  alii  duo  graduati  Oxouienses  ex  antiquorum  Bri- 
tonum  uatiüue  oriundi,  qui  hic  S.  Theologiöe  studio  se  dede- 
runt : — Thomas  Crotherus  Herefordensis  (he  afterwards  died 
iu  prison) ;  Eobertus  Gwinus,  Bangoreusis."  In  1575  lie  was 
ordained  priest,  aud  seut  "  to  the  English  harvest"  {in  mes- 
sem  Auglicanum)  in  Eugland  on  Jauuary  16th,  1576 ;  in  July 
of  which  year  we  have  the  followiug  interesting  uotice  of 
hini  in  Latiu : — "  It  has  been  signified  to  us  that  in  Wales 
nianv  niost   religious    and    dcvüut   women,   who    hud    bceu 


54  WELSH    BOOIÍS   PIUNTED    ABEOAD   IN    THE 

reconciled  to  tlie  Catbolic  faith  by  tbe  Rev.  E.  Gwin,  a 
priest  and  bacbelor  in  sacred  tbeology/  sent  to  England 
from  bence  by  ns,  were  so  greatly  inflanied  witb  an  ad- 
mirable  zeal  for  tbe  Catbolic  piety  and  religion  tbat  were 
known  to  tbem  already,  tbat  wben  tbeir  beresiarch  and 
false  bisbop  bad  come  himself  to  rout  oiit  tbeir  priest  from 
those  parts,  he  was  straightway  put  to  fligbt  by  tbe  terror  he 
conceived  from  the  threats  of  those  most  religious  women.'* 
And  in  tbe  appendix  of  Ineditrd  Documents  ì\\  tbat  collection 
(p.  288),  it  is  said  of  him  tbat  "  he  rendered  tbe  greatest 
assistance,  both  by  his  labours  and  writings,  to  his  most 
afflicted  country  ;  and  tbat  is  all  that  we  know  of  him".  Now 
what  it  concerns  us  to  learn  in  reference  to  our  particular 
subject  is  not  so  mucb  wbat  afterwards  became  of  the  Rev, 
Eobert  Gwyn — though  that  would  be  extremely  interesting 
in  itself — as  wbat  has  become  of  his  writings.  Mr.  lîowlands 
has  omitted  to  tell  us  the  source  of  his  information,  and  so 
we  are  left  at  a  loss.  He  seems  wrong,  however,  in  saying 
that  he  was,  as  he  contemptuously  expresses  it,  •'  a  monldsb 
priest",  as  tbe  Douai  Records,  which  clearly  imply  a  knüw- 
ledge  in  tbe  chronicler  of  liis  later  life,  know  nothing  of  his 
being  a  monk.  Perhaps  bis  authority  may  have  mentioned 
the  titles  of  others  of  bis  writings,  besides  tbe  Rcsolution ; 
also,  wbetber  they  were  printed,  or  circulated  only  in  mann- 
script.  If  the  former,  they  M^ere  probably  printed  abroad,  as 
clearly  no  means  existed  at  that  time  for  printing  them  in 
Wales ;  and  if  so,  no  place  presents  itself  as  a  more  lilcely 
locality  for  tbeir  publication,  especially  tbe  Resolution,  tban 
Rouen,  witb  its  priuting-press,  established  by  tbe  zealous 
foretbougbt  of  F.  l'arsons,  for  the  express  purpose  of  pro- 
viding  for  tbe  want  of  such  works.     I  feel  tbe  more  disposed 

1  He  made  his  first  act  in  this  degree  ou  the  19th  February,  1575, 
under  the  presidency  of  Cardinal,  then  Dr.  AUen.  His  third  and  last 
act  on  2\h(\  December  in  that  year. — D.  R.,  p.  273. 


SIXTEENTII   AND   SEYENTEENTH   CENTURIES.  55 

to  dwell  upoii  tliis  point,  in  the  hope  of  indiicing  all  who 
niay  have  opportunity  to  make  every  enquiry  possible  in 
continental  libraries,  and  of  foreign  boolcsellers,  in  whose 
possession  sonie  of  these  precious  remains  may  yet  be 
mouhlering  away,  unvalued  and  forgotten. 

It  has  been  said  that  no  evidence  appears  to  exist  that 
Dr.  Roger  Sniith  ever  carried  out  his  purpose  of  printing  the 
second  and  third  parts  of  Dr.  Gr.  Eoberts'  Bnjcìi  Christiono- 
gawl,  or  Christian  Mirror.  It  does  not,  however,  follow  from 
this  that  he  may  not  actually  have  done  so.  The  existence 
even  of  his  edition  of  the  first  part  was  unknown  to  the 
author  of  the  Camhrian  Bihliography,  nor,  though  duly 
entered  on  the  British  Museum  catalogue,  does  its  value 
appear  to  have  been  recognised  by  Welsh  bibliographers 
until,  by  a  happy  accident,  it  was  unearthed  in  the  course  of 
the  researches  made  there  in  connection  with  the  Welsh 
Gì'ammar,  for  the  complete  edition  of  which  we  are  now 
so  greatly  indebted  to  the  labours  and  scholarship  of  Mr. 
Silvan  Evans.  It  certainly  does  seem  to  me  that  Dr.  Smith 
must  either  have  accomplished  his  purpose  of  printing  these 
works,  or  that  it  must  have  been  forestalled  by  the  destruction 
of  the  MSS.  by  some  untoward  accident,  such  as  very  pos- 
sibly  their  being  intercepted,  on  their  being  landed  at  some 
seaport  in  England,  by  ofÊcers  of  the  Government,  whose 
vigilance  in  the  search  for  suspected  persons,  and  objects 
introduced  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  to  their  countrymen 
their  ancient  faith,  was  constant  and  unflasTo;inçr.      And  I 

*  oo      o 

have  been  led  to  this  conclusion  by  reflecting  on  the  great 
improbabiüty  that  he  would  liave  undertaken  any  other  work 
of  the  kind  before  he  had  completed  this  one.  If,  as  is  probable 
(and,  iu  default  of  a  date  in  the  body  of  the  work  itself,  we  are 
on  this  poiut  left  to  conjecture),  the  fìrst  part  of  the  Brych 
was  printed  before  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  his 
design  may  have  been  frustrated  by  the  abrupt  termination 


56  WELSH   BOOKS   PRINTED    ABROAD   IN   THE 

of  his  residence  at  Eouen.  For  alDOiit  that  time  he  was  cer- 
tainly  absent  in  England,  since  mention  is  made  in  a  State 
paper  by  a  spy  of  the  Government  of  "  a  priest  in  England", 
Dr.  Eoger  Smith,  aged  about  thirty-fìve,  a  Welshman,  in  1601. 
Between  that  year  and  1611  appears,  in  the  Cam'brian  Bíb- 
liography,  another  work  from  his  pen,  entitled,  "  Crynhodeb 
o  addysg  Cristionogawl,  a  Dosparth  Catholic  ar  ddeuddeg 
pwnc  y  Phydd  a  elwir  y  Gredo,  hefyd  ar  weddi  yr 
Arglwydd,  sef  y  Pater  ar  Gyfarchiad  yr  Angel,  a  elwir 
Ave  Maria,  yn  ddiweddaf  ar  y  Deg  gair  Deddf  a  elwir 
y  deg  gorchymyn.  Gwedi  ei  gyfieithn  o'r  Lladin  i  'r 
Gymeraeg,  drwy  ddyfal  astudiaetli  a  llafur  D.  Eosier  Smith 
o  dref  Llan  Elwy,  Athraw  o  Theologyddiaeth,  megis  ym- 
ddiddan  ne  ddialogiaeth  rhwng  y  discibil  a'r  athraw";  i.e.,  "  A 
Compendium  of  Christian  Doctrine  and  Catholic  Disquisition 
on  the  twelve  articles  of  tlie  Eaith  that  is  called  the  Creed ; 
also  on  the  Lord's  Prayer,  or  Pater,  and  the  Angelical  Salu- 
tation,  called  the  Ave  Maria ;  lastly  on  the  ten  words  of  the 
Law,  called  the  Ten  Commandments.  Translated  from  the 
Latin  into  the  Welsh  by  the  earnest  study  and  labour  of 
Master  Eoger  Smith,  of  St.  Asaph,  Master  in  Theology,  as  a 
conversation  or  dialogue  between  the  disciple  and  his  master." 
Tlie  date  of  this  work  is  fixed  by  Eowlands  to  1609,  but,  as 
far  as  appears,  from  no  other  authority  than  his  own  con- 
jecture ;  and  as  to  the  place  of  publication  also,  and  whether 
he  liad  seen  a  copy  of  the  book,  or  had  derived  his  informa- 
tion  regarding  it  elsewhere,  its  size,  and  the  number  of  pages, 
we  are  left  entirely  in  the  dark.  I  can,  therefore,  do  no  more 
than  offer  a  conjecture  at  hap-hazard  respecting  it,  which  is, 
that  as  it  was  translated  from  the  Latin,  it  may  have  been  a 
corapendium,  or  a  first  edition,  of  the  next  boolc  published  by 
him  in  1611,  respecting  which  we  are  happily  left  in  no 
uncertainty  whatever,  there  being  a  copy  to  be  seen  in  the 
libi'ary  of  the  Ijritish  Museum.     There  is  also  a  third  hypo- 


SIXTEENTH    AND    SEYENTEENTH   CENTURIES.  57 

tbesis  open  to  iis,  whicli,  iipon  fuller  consideration,  I  think 
most  likely  to  be  the  true  one.  It  is  that  the  work  which 
he  describes  as  of  1609  is  in  reality  identical  with  that  of 
1611,  and  that,  by  some  accident,  Eowlands  has  divided 
the  title  into  two  parts.  I  ara  led  to  this  belief  by  the 
consideration  that  Eowlands  is  in  more  than  one  instance 
inaccurate  in  his  titles,  and  that  his  version  of  this  one  differs 
greatly  from  that  of  the  original,  as  we  see  it  in  the  British 
Museum  copy,  The  title,  as  he  gives  it,  is  "  Catechisni 
Petrus  Canisius,  yr  hwn  a  gyíieithiwyd  yn  Gymraeg  gann  D. 
Eosier  Smyth,  S.  Th.  D.  o  Dref  Lanelweu,  1611,  ac  a  brintiwyd 
yn  ninas  Paris" ;  "  The  Catechism  of  Peter  Canisius,  which 
was  translated  into  Welsh  by  D.  Eoger  Smith,  Doctor  in 
Sacred  Theology,  of  St.  Asaj^h,  1611,  and  was  printed  in  the 
city  of  Paris."  Now,  the  true  title  runs  thus : — "  Opus 
Catechisticum  D.  Petri  Canisii  Theologi  ex  Societate  Jesu. 
Sef  yu  :  Svm  ne  grynodeb  o  adysc  Gristionogawl,  a  dosparth 
Catholic,  ar  hol  bunciaur  Phyd  hun  a  yscrifenod  yr  hy 
barchus  a'r  arderchaug  athrau  uchod  yn  gynta  yn  ladin  ag  a 
gyfiaithuyd  o'r  ladin  i'r  gymeraeg  drwy  dyfal  lafur  ag  astu- 
diaeth  D.  Eosier  Smyth  o  dref  lanelwy  ath[r]au  o  Theology- 
diaeth,  megis  dialogiaeth  ne  'mdidan  rhwng  y  discibl  a'r 
athrau  un  yn  holi  a'r  lal  yn  atteb,  ag  a  breintiwyd  yn  ninas 
Paris."  The  Catechetical  Work  of  Dominus  Peter  Canisius 
of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  That  is  to  say :  A  Sum  or  Compen- 
dium  of  Christian  Doctrine,  and  a  Catholic  Disquisition  on 
all  the  points  of  Faith.  This  the  above  very  reverend  and 
distinguished  Master  wrote  6rst  in  Latin,  and  was  translated 
frorn  the  Latin  into  Welsh  through  the  earnest  labour  and 
study  of  D.  Eoger  Smith,  of  S.  Asaph,  Master  in  Theology, 
as  a  dialogue  or  conversation  between  the  disciple  and  his 
master,  tlie  one  questioning  and  the  other  answering,  and 
was  printed  in  the  city  of  Paris.  It  will  be  readily  seen 
that  there  is  so  little  variation  in  the  substance  of  the  titles 


58  WELSH   BOOKS   PEINTED    ABROAD   IN   THE 

of  the  two  works,  as  given  by  Eowlands,  as  to  leave  but  little 

difíìculty  in  amving  at  the  conclusion  that  they  were  really 

one  and  the  same.     On  the  title-page  is  a  monogram,  con- 

sisting  of  the  Crucifix  drawn  within  a  circle,  and  below  it 

the  Three  Nails,  encircled  by  the  Crown  of  Thorns  and  a 

circle  surrounded  by  a  Glory  within  a  shaded  circle.     On 

one  side  of  this  is  the  name  of  the  printer,  "  Joanis  Laquehay", 

and  on  the  other  the  words  "Ex   Officinâ  Tupographicâ", 

followed  by  an  epigram  in  verse  on  the  use  of  the  crucifix. 

Yr  Anuiol  Phol  a  Phy  (/  e..,  ffy) 
Poen  alaeth  Pen  welo  Jessy 
Linied  os  gueloed  hyuy 
Lun  diaul  ymhol  le  yn  i  dŷ. 

which  may  be  thus  paraphrased — 

The  godless  fool  feels  it  no  loss, 

To  fly  from  Christ's  pains  on  the  Cross  : 

Let  him  fill  then,  he'U  think  it  less  evil, 
His  house  with  foul  forms  of  the  deviL 

The  title-page  is  slightly  cut  off  at  the  foot  by  the  binder. 
The  work  consists  of  585  pages,  and  is  prefaced  by  an 
elegant  Latin  letter  addressed  "  Illustrissimo  et  Pteverend- 
issimo  Domino  Jacobo  David,  S.E.E.  Cardinali  Perronio, 
Archiprsesuli  Senonensi,  Galliarum  et  Germanise  Primati, 
necnon  Cliristianissimi  Eegis  Eleemosynario,  Msecenati  suo 
munificentissimo",  and  ending  "  D.  V.  IllustrissimaB  et 
Eeverendissini8e  observantissimus,  Eogerus  Smithíeus,  Cam- 
bro-Britannus".  This  letter,  which  occupies  nearly  six 
pages,  solves  the  question  which  naturally  presents  itself — 
why  Dr.  Smith  should  have  transferred  the  scene  of  his 
labours  in  printing  books  for  the  use  of  his  suffering  fellow- 
countrymen  from  Eouen  to  Paris,  He  intimates  in  his 
preface  that  the  work  was  brought  out  at  the  exj)ense  of 
Cardinal  Perron,  wliom,  as  we  have  seen,  he  calls  his 
"  Maecenas",  and  we  may  w^ell  believe  that  he  would  enjoy 


.SIXTEENT1I    AND    SEYENTEENTH    CENTURIES.  59 

fíicilities  for  its  execiitioii  under  tlie  eye  of  liis  patron,  wlio 
probaljly  resided  tliere,  wliich  would  have  been  wanting  at 
Eouen. 

Then  follows  a  Welsh  Address  to  the  Eeader :  "  Anherchion 
at  y  Darleur  haudgar  dedfawl",  beginning  "  Gwedi  mi  ys- 
tyrio  cyflur  ag  ystad  egiuys  (hiu  y  dyd  hediu,  a  gueled  yr 
aneirif  o  sectau  heretigaid  a  gau  athrauyaeth  a  oyscarod  ag 
a  danod  y  gelyn",  etc,  which  ends  on  page  6,  with  "  0  Dinas 
Paris  y  dyd  cyntaf  o  fís  Maurth.  Sef  yn  dyd  guyl  Deui 
Sant,  1611.  Dy  gyduladur  a  'th  gar,  Eosier  Smyth.  Heb 
duu  heb  dini". 

In  his  annotation  on  Eowlands'  notice  of  this  book  in  the 
Camhrian  Bi'blmjro.'pliy,  Mr.  Silvan  Evans  remarhs  on 
the  fact  that  it  is  printed  in  the  same  character  as 
Dr.  Gr.  Eoberts'  Grammar ;  and  he  is  puzzled  to  know 
whether  the  latter  may  not  also  have  been  printed  at  Paris 
rather  than  at  Milan.  His  ditìiculty  was  undoubtedly  caused 
by  the  incompleteness  of  an  extract  sent  him  by  the  late 
Eev.  John  Jones,  Precentor  of  Christchurch  (better  known 
in  the  Principality  by  his  P^ardic  appellation  of  "  Tegid"), 
from  a  "  Caution  to  the  Eeader"  (rybid  i'r  darleur),  which, 
by  an  afterthought,  as  it  would  seem,  appears  at  the  end  of 
the  book,  instead  of  its  more  appropriate  place  at  the  com- 
mencement.  It  begins,  "  Na  ryfeda  dim  (darleur  haudgar) 
diaingc  lauer  o  faiau  urth  brintio  y  lyfryma".  As  it  is  too 
long  for  quotation  in  the  original  as  well  as  in  English,  yet 
remarkable  for  the  curious  and  valuable  information  it  sup- 
plies,  as  to  the  reasons  for  the  adoption  of  tlie  singular  or- 
thography  and  punctuation  of  the  several  works,  I  may, 
perhaps,  Ije  pardoned  if  I  venture  to  offer  a  translation  of  it. 

"  Wonder  not  (charitable  reader)  that  many  errors  have 
escaped  in  the  printing  of  this  book,  for  the  printer  under- 
stood  neither  the  language  nor  the  letters,  nor  the  characters. 
He  was  also  so  stubljorn  and  obstinate,  nay,  so  pig-headed 


60        WELSH  BOOKS  PRINTED  ABROAD  IN  THE 

(bencliuiban),  after  tlie  nature  of  his  country,  that  he  would 
endure  neither  rebuke  nor  correction  of  his  faults.  More- 
over,  considering  that  there  are  several  modes  of  ortho- 
graphy  customary  among  us,  especially  as  to  doubling  the 
consonants,  some  using  dd,  II,  sonie  too  often  avoiding  their 
use,  joining  h  to  each  one  of  these,  instead  of  doubling 
them:  and  because,  to  my  thinking,  the  above  custom  is 
ugly  and  unseemly,  I  have  seen  good  to  follow  the  very 
Eeverend  and  eminent  Master,  Gryffyth  Eobert,  Canon 
Theologian  of  the  mother-church  of  the  city  of  Milan 
("  Canon  theologaid  o  fam-Eglwys  Dinas  Mylen"),  a  man 
who  deserves  eternal  praise  and  fame,  not  only  because  of 
his  many  virtues,  but  also  for  his  learning  and  kno\vledge, 
and  particularly  (yn  bendifadeu)  in  tbe  Welsíi  language. 
He,  in  his  book  on  correct  writing  (yn  ei  lyfr  o  iawn  ysgrif- 
enydiaeth)  teaches,  instead  of  doubling  the  letters,  to  put 
a  prick,  or  tittle,  under  each,  in  this  manner,  d  dd,  1  II,  u  îm> 

•  •  • 

ph  instead  of  íf,  by  following  the  Hebrews,  who  use  the 
same  prick,  instead  of  doubling  the  letters,  which  they 
call  dages.  And  wonder  not,  besides,  that  I  do  not  double 
the  n,  as  in  these  words,  tìjn,  hyn,  guyn,  and  the  like, 
for  it  seemed  better  (to  my  judgment)  to  put  an  accent 
(acen)  over  it,  when  it  might  be  necessary  to  lengthen, 
or  double  it.  Lastly,  wonder  not  that  I  sometimes 
borrow  words  (when  they  are  wanted)  from  the  Latin,  for 
the  old  Welsh  were  wont  to  do  the  same  thing,  as  it  may 
be  easily  seen  that  the  greater  part  of  our  language  has  be'en 
derived  from  the  Latin  (tynu'r  rhan  o^n  iaith  ni  alan  o'r 
ladin)  which  the  above  master  shows  in  liis  book  of  Ety- 
mology  (cyfìachyddiaeth) ." 

As  this  last  reference  is  to  the  second  Part  of  Dr.  Gryfíytli 
Eoberts'  G^rammar,  of  which  Eowlands  speahs  as  consisting 
of  112  pages,  it  follows  that  the  "  Llyfr  o  iawn  ysgrifen- 
yddiaeth",  ubove  referred  to,  is  thc  Eirst  Part,  with  the  title 


SIXTEKNT1I    AND    SEYENTEENTH    CENTURIES.  Gl 

abbreviated.  A  second  edition  of  this  work  was  supposed  to 
have  been  printed  in  1657,  under  the  title  of  Y  DisfjyU  ar 
Athraio  o  .ncu'ijdd.  Of  this  I  have  a  copy,  printed  with 
other  works  by  Morgan  Llwyd  o  Wynedd  in  1765,  in  a  note 
to  Eowhands'  Notice  of  which  it  is  stated,  however,  that  he, 
and  not  Eoger  Smith,  was  the  author.  And  a  third,  in  1683, 
nnder  that  of  Dosparth  Catholic  ar  holl  hyiiciau'r  ffydd,  mcgis 
dialogncth  rhwnfj  y  Discehcl  cci  Athraw.  If  this  be  so,  and 
the  title  be  printed  correctly,  the  orthography  and  punctua- 
tion  of  the  original  must  have  been  abandoned,  and  with  it 
the  system  of  Welsh  wTÌting,  adopted  by  Dr.  Gr.  Eoberts 
and  his  pupil,  departed  for  ever ! 

The  labours  of  Dr.  Eoger  Smith  did  not  end  here,  for  it 
appears  from  the  Camhricm  BiUiograŷhy,  that  he  printed  at 
Paris,  in  1615,  another  book,  in  24mo,  containing  about  300 
pages,  as  conjectured  by  Rowlands,  who  had  in  his  hands 
a  copy  reaching  only  to  p.  276.  The  title  is  "  Theater  du 
Mond  sef  iw  Gorsedd  y  Byd,  Ue  i  gellir  gweled  trueni  a 
Llaseni  Dyn  o  ran  y  Corph  ai  Odidawgrwydd  o  ran  yr 
Enaid ;  a  Scrifenwyd  gynt  yn  y  Frangaeg,  ag  a  gyfieithwyd 
ir  Gymraeg  drwy  lafyr  Rosier  Smyth  o  Dref  Lan  Elwy 
Athraw  o  Theologyddiaeth.  Psal.  48.  Homo  cum  in  honore 
esset,  non  inteUexit,  Comparatus  est  iumentis  insipientibus 
&  simUis  factus  est  üs,  Dyn  pan  oedd  mewn  anrhydedd 
heb  ddeall  a  gyffiybwyd  ir  anifeiHaid  di  wybodus,  ag  ai 
gwnaeth  i  hun  yn  debyg  iddynt  hwy". 

Then  foUows  a  monogram,  in  a  sort  of  stanza  of  four  Hnes, 
arranged  in  a  square  : — 

Dyrachwel  yma,  Mae  yma  Ddelw  Darluniad 
Dymchwel  yna  Nid  oes  or  Byd 
ünd  Dymchwelyd. 

Rowlands  teUs  us  that  the  work  is  divided  into  three 
books,  and  that  the  book  was  translated  into  EngUsh  twenty- 
eight  years  after  its  pubUcation  in  Welsh,  but  witli  a  dif- 


62  WELSH    BOOKS   PEINTED    ABROAD    IN   THE 

ferent  title-page.  It  professed  to  be  "translated  out  of 
French  into  Spanish  by  ye  ]\Iaster  Baltazar  Peres  del  Cas- 
tello,  &  lastly  translated  out  of  Castilian  into  English  by 
Francis  Fayrer,  Merchant.     London,  1663." 

My  search  in  the  British  Museum  has  failed  to  discover 
either  of  these  translations,  but  I  came  upon  one  by  John 
Ahlay,  printed  in  1574  and  1582,  iu  octavo.  The  title-page 
has  on  it : — "  Theatrum  j\Iundi,  the  theatre  or  rule  of  the 
world,  whereiu  may  be  sene  the  running  race  and  course  of 
every  man's  life  as  touching  miserie  and  felicitie,  wherin  be 
contained  wonderfuU  examples  and  learned  devises  to  the 
overthrow  of  vice,  and  exalting  of  virtue.  Whereunto  is 
added  a  learned  and  pithie  work  of  the  excellence  of  man- 
kynd.  Writlen  in  the  French  and  Latiu  tongues  by  Peter 
Boaystuan,  Englished  by  John  Alday.  Imprinted  at  London 
by  Henry  Bynneman,  for  Thomas  Hacket :  and  are  to  be 
solde  at  his  shop  at  the  Eoyal  Exchange,  at  the  signe  of 
the  Greene  Dragon.  Anno  1574  (16mo,  287  jDp.),  in  black 
letter.  The  "  Table"  is  in  Eoman  characters.  I  also  found 
the  French  work,  entitled  "  Le  Théatre  du  Monde,  où  il  est 
faict  un  ample  discours  des  misères  humaines  co[m]posé  en 
Latin  par  P.  (Pierre)  Boaystuan  surnommé  Launay,  natif 
de  Bretagne,  par  luy-mesme,  puis  traduict  en  Français." 
The  book,  it  must  be  confessed,  would  seem  scarcely  worthy, 
in  the  present  day  at  least,  of  the  reputation  it  must  have 
attained,  or  of  the  pains  taken  in  turning  it  into  so  many 
languages.  The  author,  a  good  and  religious  man,  was 
greatly  addicted  to  the  collection  of  marvellous  stories,  as 
appears  from  the  titles  of  several  other  works  of  his,  which 
he  delighted  to  intervveave  with  "  wise  saws  and  modern 
instances".  The  book,  however,  is  a  great  curiosity  in  its 
way.  The  remarkable  point,  as  to  the  Welsh  translation,  is 
that,  if  Eowlands  has  correctly  printed  the  long  extract  he 
has  given  from  the  Welsh  translation,  it  will  follow  that 


SIXTEENTH    AND    SEYENTEENTH    CENTURIES.  63 

Dr.  Smyth  liad  already,  in  1615,  abandoned  his  punctuated 
and  abbreviated  orthography  :  for  here  \ve  find  the  Is  and  ds 
doubled  in  ordinary  nioderu  fashion;  and  nothing  peculiar 
about  it,  save  tlie  printing  of  the  w  with  two  sejoarate  v's. 
If  so,  we  can  but  exclaim,  Sic  traìisit  gloria  mundi  !  But 
its  verification  is  stiU  a  desideratum,  on  better  authority  than 
that  of  the  not  always  accurate  Eowlands,  from  a  sight  of 
the  work  itself.  Nor  can  I  feel  that  these  remarks  will 
have  been  without  their  use,  if  the  fact  of  their  having 
been  made  should  bring  to  light  the  existence  of  a  copy. 

Two  other  works  still  remain  to  be  noticed,  respecting 
which,  curious  and  interesting  as  they  are,  the  space  neces- 
sarily  devoted  to  the  foregoing  compels  me  to  be  brief,  The 
title  of  the  former  of  these  is  correctly  given  by  Eowlands, 
as  far  as  it  goes,  as  follows : — "  Eglurhad  Helaethlawn  o'r 
Athrawiaeth  Gristnogawl,  a  gyfansodhwyd  y  tro  cyntaf  yn 
Italaeg,  trwy  waith  yr  Ardderchoccaf  a'r  Hybarchaf  Gar- 
dinal  Ehobert  Bellarrain,  o  Gymdeithas  yr  Jesv.  Ag  o'r 
Italaeg  a  gymreigwyd  er  budh  Ysprydol  i'r  Cymru,  drwy 
ddiwydrwydh  a  dyfal  gymmorth  y  pendefig  canmoladwyV.E." 
"A  full  and  copious  exposition  of  the  Christiau  doctrine, 
which  was  composed  first  in  Italian,  being  the  work  of  the 
most  eminent  and  most  Eeverend  Cardinal  Eobert  Bellar- 
mine,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  And  was  done  into  Welsh, 
from  the  Italian,  for  tlie  spiritual  benefit  of  the  Cymry, 
through  the  assiduity  and  zealous  assistance  of  the  praise- 
worthy  nobleman,  V.E."  Then  follows  the  monogram, 
found  on  the  title-page  of  many  of  the  publications  of  the 
Society,  viz.,  the  letters  I.H.S.,  surmounted  by  a  Latin  cross 
with  three  crosslets,  the  three  nails  of  the  Crucifixion  below, 
all  within  a  square  of  four  lines,  surrounded  by  a  dotted 
border.  After  which  are  the  words,  "  Permissu  Superiorum", 
and  the  date  in  Eoman  numerals,  ]\I.D.CXVIII.  On  the  top  of 
the  title-page,  in  ]\IS.,  are  the  abbreviated  words, "  Bibl.  Coll., 


64  WELSII    BOOKS   PRINTED    ABROAD    IN   THE 

Angloruin,  S.  J.  Andomari",  in  the  copy  in  tlie  King's 
Library  at  Brussels,  where  I  first  met  with  the  work  about 
eight  years  ago,  showing  that  it  once  belonged  to  the  library 
of  the  Jesuits^  College  at  St.  Omer.  It  is  only  a  few  months 
ago  that  I  found  a  perfect  copy  of  the  work  in  the  library 
of  the  British  Museum.  It  is  in  16mo,  and  consists  of 
348  pages,  but  is  wrongly  described  in  the  catalogue  as 
printed  at  Louvain  in  1618.  It  ends  thus :  "  Moliant  i'r 
Jesu,  ag  i'w  Fam  Fendigedig  Mair  bur-forwyn;  ar  Gyfar- 
chiad  yr  hon,  y  gorphenned  hyn  o  gyfieithiad  o'r  Italaeg. 
25  Martii,  1618.  Finis."  "  Praise  be  to  Jesus,  and  to  His 
Blessed  Mother,  the  pure  Yirgin  Mary :  with  the  Salutation 
to  whom  this  translation  was  finished  from  the  Italian,  on 
the  25th  March  1618.  The  end."  It  concludes  with  a 
table  of  errata  of  three  pages.  The  whole,  excepting  tlie 
foregoing,  is  printed  in  italic,  each  page  within  double 
lines,  of  about  an  inch  apart.  The  letters  II  and  dd  are 
not  doubled  in  this  work,  but  are  printed,  like  the  Scotch 
Gaelic,  with  Ih,  and  dh.  The  work  exists  also  in  Latin, 
with  the  title  "  Card.  Eoberti  Bellarmini,  S.  J.  Uberior 
Explicatio  doctrinse  Christianaì."  The  AVelsh  translation 
was  made  in  tlie  Cardinal's  life-time,  for  he  died  in  1620. 
A  learned  member  of  the  Society,  to  whom  we  are  greatly 
indebted  for  his  share  in  the  recent  publication  of  the 
Becords  of  the  English  Province  of  thc  Society  of  Jcsus,  in 
six  vols.,  has  kindly  furnished  me  with  the  following  in- 
formation  respecting  tlie  author.  He  states  that  "Fatlier 
John  Salisbury  translated  Card.  Bellarmine's  larger  Catcchism 
into  Welsh  in  1618.  He  was  a  native  of  Merionethshire, 
born  1575,  educated  abroad,  and,  having  been  ordained  priest, 
was  seut  upon  the  English  Mission.  After  labouring  in  it 
for  a  long  tinie,  and  successfuUy,  he  entered  the  Society  of 
Jesus  in  1605,  and  was  professed  of  the  four  solemn  vows 
in  London   in  1618.     Upon    the   deatli  of   Father   Eobert 


SIXTEENTII   AND    SEYENTEENTH   CENTURIES.  G5 

Jones,  tlie  Superior  of  the  North  and  South  District,  S.  J., 
in  1G15,  r.  John  Salisbury  succeeded  him  in  that  office, 
residing  at  Raglan  Castle,  where  he  was  Chaplain  to  the 
Lady  Florence  Sornerset,  a  convert  of  F.  Eobert  Jones.  F. 
John  Salisbury  was  the  founder  of  the  coUege  or  district  of 
the  English  proviuce  S.  J.  called  the  College  of  S.  Francis 
Xavier,  and  the  Xorth  and  South  Wales  Mission  in  1622, 
and  he  died  Supcrior  of  it  in  1625.  His  transLation  of 
Card.  Bellarmine's  larger  CatecMsm  into  Welsh  was  printed 
at  tbe  press  of  the  Euglish  province,  at  their  College  of  St. 
Omer,  in  1618,  tacito  nomine.  He  also  composed  some  other 
smaller  works  of  piety."  The  statement  that  he  was  a 
native  of  Merionethshire  seems  to  point  to  his  being  one  of 
the  Eug  branch  of  the  Salisburys  of  Bachymbyd  and  Llew- 
eni.  The  only  oue  I  have  been  able  to  find  of  the  name 
belonging  to  that  family  is  John,  second  son  of  William 
Salisbury  of  Eug,  who  died  iu  1677,  and  whose  elder  brother 
Owain  Salisbury,  is  said  to  have  married  an  English  lady, 
and  joined  the  Catholic  Church  {Ärch.  Camh:  for  1878, 
p.  289).  The  statement  that  he  died  without  issue  is,  2>ro 
tanto,  in  favour  of  his  identity  with  Father  John  Salisbury, 
who,  it  is  natural  to  suppose,  may  have  beeu  iustrumental  in 
his  brother's  conversion. 

I  have  now  come  to  the  last  work  on  my  Jist,  and  one 
which,  perliaps,  may  be  felt  to  have  a  peculiar  interest  for 
us,  inasmuch  as  a  perfect — if  I  inistahe  not,  the  only  perfect 
copy  known  was  in  the  possession  of  the  late  lamented 
founder  of  the  resuscitated  Cymmrodorion  Society,  the  Eev. 
Eobert  Jones,  of  Eotherhithe.  The  title,  as  given  by  Eow- 
lands,  is  "  Allwydd  neu  Agoriad  Paradwys  i'r  Cymrv.  Hynny 
y\v  Gweddiau,  üevotionau,  Cynghorion,  ac  Athrawiaethau  tra 
duwiol  ac  angenrheidiol  i  bol)  Christion  yn  mynnu  agoryd  y 
I'orth  a  myned  i  raewn  i'r  Nef  Wedi  eu  cyunuU  o  amryw 
lyfrau    duwiol,   a'i   cyfieithu   yn   Gymraeg :    iieu   wedi    eu 

VOL.  IV.  F 


66        WELSH  BOOKS  PRINTED  ABEOAD  IN  THE 

cyfansoddi,  gan  J.  H.  Yn  Lvyck.  Imprintiwyd  yn  y 
Mwyddyn  mdclxx.  [12  plyg  bychan.]"  "  A  Key,  or 
Opening  of  Paradise  to  tlie  Cymry.  That  is,  prayers,  devo- 
tions,  counsels,  and  instructions,  very  godly  and  necessary 
for  every  Christian  desiring  to  open  the  gate  and  enter  into 
Heaven.  Gathered  out  of  several  godly  books,  aud  trans- 
lated  into  Welsh,  or  composed  by  J.  H.  at  Lvyck.  Printed 
in  the  year  1670.  [Small  12mo.]"  The  character  of  the 
■work  is  thus  described  by  Rowlands :  "  This  is  a  Book  of 
Devotions,  or  Popish  Missal,  in  parallel  Welsh  and  Latin,  in 
478  pp.  12mo.,  and  written  in  clear  and  good  language. 
The  top  lines  and  íirst  words  are  in  red  letters.  It  is 
probable  that  the  compiler  was  a  South  Wales  man,  for  he 
addresses  it,  '  To  my  Brothers  and  Sisters,  and  other  Faithful 
Eelatives  in  Gwent  and  Brecheinoc'.  And  from  the  initials 
of  his  name,  J.  H,  it  is  likely  that  he  was  one  of  the 
Havards,  of  Defynog,  as  there  have  been  families  of  that 
surname  there  for  ages,  and,  moreover,  adhering  to  the 
Popish  religion,  and  one  of  theni  has  ever  been  in  the 
priesthood.  His  salutation  of  his  relatives  in  'Gwent  and 
Brecheinoc'  is  a  corroborative  proof  of  this.  The  place 
called  '  Lvyck',  where  the  book  is  said  to  have  been  printed, 
is  said  by  the  Eev.  D.  S.  Evans  to  be  '  Liége',  in  the  present 
kingdom  of  Belgium",  with  more  to  the  same  purpose.  And 
in  a  letter  from  Mr.  Evans,  quoted  in  a  note,  it  is  added, 
"  Tliere  is  no  disputing  that  this  book  w^as  printed  in  the 
town  called  in  Flemish  (Isdiraeg)  '  Luik'  or  '  Luyk',  in  Ger- 
man  Lüttich,  and  in  French  'Liége'."  But,  alas  for  con- 
jecture,  which,  however  learned,  reasonable,  or  iuherently  or 
extrinsically  probable,  till  fact  comes  forth  to  prove  or  dis- 
prove  it,  is  finally  stiU  but  conjecture.  Eowlands,  in  the 
first  place,  has  missed  the  mark  in  calling  the  book  a  Catholic 
Missal.  It  is  rather  a  volume  of  miscellaneous  and  general 
iustruetions  and  devotions  for  tlie  use  of  the  laity  at  church 


SIXTEENTn    AND   SEYENTEENTII    CENTUBIES.  G7 

and  elsewhere.  At  the  end  is  a  little  treatise,  partly  in 
Euglish  and  partly  in  AVelsh,  intended  to  teach  the  Welsh 
that,  if  they  pronounce  Latin  like  their  own  language,  they 
■\vill  certaiuly  pronounce  it  aright ;  and  that  Englishmen  wiU 
do  well  to  take  a  lesson  from  the  Welsh  if  they  wish  to  pro- 
nounce  Latin  so  as  to  be  understood  on  the  Continent.  Tlie 
book  commences  with  a  calendar,  and  is  followed  by  a 
chapter  entitled  "  Athrawaeth  Cristionogawl",  not,  however, 
as  one  might  be  led  to  conjecture,  theidentical"Athrawaeth", 
reprinted,  of  Dr.  Maurice  Clynog. 

And  again,  both  Mr.  Eowlands  and  his  editor,  Mr.  Silvan 
Evans,  though  rightly  identifying  Lvyck  with  Liége,  have 
missed  the  mark  together  in  ascribing,  on  grounds  however 
apparently  well-founded,  the  composition  of  this  work  to  a 
Havard.  Having  been  informed  by  Arthur  W.  K.  jMiller, 
Esq.,  of  the  British  INIuseum,  to  whom  I  feel  gratefully 
indebted  for  much  valuable  assistance  in  tlie  prosecution  of 
this  enquiry,  tliat  it  appears  from  Cotton's  Topographical 
Gazetteer  that  "  At  Liége,  a  colleoe  of  Euolish  Jesuits  was 

o    ^  o  o 

founded,  in  1616,  by  George  Talbot,  afterwards  Earl  of 
Shrewsbury,  which  was  destroyed  in  1794",  I  applied  yet 
again  to  the  same  kind  informant  as  before  respecting  the 
translation  of  Bdlarmines  Catechism,  from  whom  I  have 
been  gratified  to  obtain  the  solution  of  this  long-hidden 
mystery.  The  Key  (Allwydd)  was  published  in  London  in 
1670,  but  must  have  been  "  imprinted"  at  Liége.  The 
author  was  Father  Jolm  Hugh  Owen,  who  usually  passed 
by  the  name  of  John  Hughes.  He  was  born  in  Anglesey  in 
1615,  and  died  at  Holywell,  December  28th,  lG8ö.  The 
Rccords  of  thc  Encjlish  Province  of  the  Societij  of  Jcsus  con- 
tain  the  foUowing  notice  of  this  pious  and  learned  Welsli- 
man: — "The  diary  of  the  English  College,  Eome,  says  tliat 
hc  was  admitted,  under  the  name  of  John  Hughes,  an 
olummis  of  that  college,  December  25th,  163G,  oät.  twenty-one 

F  2 


68  WELSH   BOOKS   PRINTED   ABROAD   IN   THE 

years,  and  left  Eome  for  England,  September  28th,  1643. 
Vir  patientiéB  singularis  egreyie  se  gcssit  is  the  character 
written  of  him  in  the  Diary.  He  entered  the  English 
ProYÌnce  in  1648,  while  a  missionary  priest  in  England. 
In  a  Catalogue  for  1655,  he  is  mentioned  as  then  serving  in 
the  College  or  District  of  S.  Francis  Xavier  and  the  Welsh 
Mission.  It  appears  that  some  months  previously  to  his 
death  he  had  fallen  off  his  horse  on  returning  from  Mr. 
Salisbury's,  a  recent  convert  to  the  Catholic  Faith,  whither 
he  had  gone  to  administer  the  Sacraments  to  his  family. 
Besides  the  ordinary  fast  every  Friday,  when  he  took  a 
moderate  collation  at  night,  he  used  to  abstain  from  aU  food 
until  Sunday  at  noon.  He  never  went  from  home  for  the 
purpose  of  recreation,  and  never  played  at  cards,  or  similar 
games.  He  had  practised  fasting  from  his  youth.  He  was 
the  author  of  a  MS.  Eeport  in  Welsh,  dated  July  6th, 
1668,  describing  the  cure  of  Eoger  Whetstone,  then  about 
sixty  years  of  age,  from  inveterate  lameness,  on  August 
20th,  1667,  by  drinhing  the  water  of  St.  Winifred's  Well. 
This  poor  man  came  from  Bromsgrove,  in  Worcestershire, 
and  after  being  a  Quaker  and  an  Anabaptist,  became  a  good 
Catholic.  His  son,  about  eleven  years  of  age,  was  christened 
in  the  Catholic  Church,  after  full  instruction,  unto  whom 
the  greatest  personages  (says  a  ]\IS.  at  Stonyhurst  CoUege) 
were  pleased  to  be  patrons. 

"  Father  Owen  published  some  treatises,  tacito  nomine, 
'On  the  grievousness  of  mortal  sin,  especially  of  heresy', 
London,  1668;  also  a  Catechism  in  Welsh,  London,  1668, 
and  the  Prayer  Book  called  '  The  Key  of  Heaven'." 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  information  here  given 
respecting  the  last  work,  which  appears  to  be  identical  witli 
tlie  object  of  our  inquiry_,  is  incomplete,  inasmuch  as  the 
title  is  giyen  in  Euglish,  as  if  the  Prayer  Book  were  com- 
posed  in  that  language.     This  is  probably  the  case,  and  the 


SIXTEENTH   AND   SEYENTEENTÍI   CENTUllIES.  69 

Welsh  work  a  translation  or  paraphrase  of  the  former,  in- 
teuded  by  the  learned  Father  to  be  adapted  to  the  special 
needs  of  his  own  countrymen.  The  former  may  have  been 
priuted  ìn  London,  and  the  hitter  at  Liége ;  while  the 
destruction  of  the  CoUege  in  1794  may  account  for  the 
ignorance  that  has  existed  relative  to  this  work  and  its 
author. 

There  is  another  "work,  which,  from  its  title,  was  clearly 
written  by  a  Catholic,  and  as  it  appears  to  have  the  name  of 
neither  place  nor  author  on  the  title-page,  was  probably 
printed  abroad.  It  appears  in  the  Camh'ian  Bibliography  as 
No.  2  of  the  year  16G1,  with  this  title:  "Drych  Cydwybod, 
sef  modd  cymmwys  a  ífrwy  thlawn  i  ddwyn  pob  math  ar  ddyn 
i  gael  gwybodaeth  o'i  bechodau,  a  megis  ei  gweled  ger  bron 
ei  lygaid,  gan  ddangos  iddo  pa  fodd  i  gwneiíî  ei  CyfFes  (sic) 
i'w  Dad  enaid,  a'r  modd  i  gael  meddyginiaeth  am  danynt. 
12  plyg."  "  A  Mirror  of  Conscience,  or  a  suitable  and  fruitful 
method  of  briuging  every  sort  of  person  to  a  knowledge  of 
his  sins,  and  to  see  them  as  it  were  before  his  eyes,  showing 
him  how  he  shall  make  his  Confession  to  his  spiritual  Father, 
and  the  way  to  get  a  cure  for  them.     12mo." 

There  was,  to  my  knowledge,  a  copy  of  this  \vork  in  the 
possession  of  a  poor  person  in  Caernarvonshire  in  1848. 
Whether  it  is  still  in  existence,  I  am  unable  at  present 
to  ascertain. 


YO 


WELSH    ANTHHOPOLOGY. 
By  f.  w.  rudler. 


When  it  was  clecided  tliat  the  Britisli  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science  should  hold  its  Fiftieth  Annual 
Meeting  in  Wales,  those  members  of  the  Association  who 
are  interested  in  the  Principality  trusted  that  the  occasion 
would  be  used  for  the  discussion  of  many  scientific  questions 
of  local  interest.  Upwards  of  thirty  years  had  passed  since 
the  previous  visit  of  this  scientific  body  to  Wales,  and  during 
that  period — a  period  which  represents  the  lifetime  of  a 
generation — many  branches  of  science  had  undergone  un- 
paralleled  development.  Take,  for  example,  the  science  of 
Anthropology.  When  the  Association  met  at  Swansea  in 
1848,  tlie  term  "  anthropology",  in  its  modern  biological 
sense,  was  scarcely  known  to  men  of  science.  Such  papers 
as  might  be  written  on  anthropological  subjects  were,  iu  those 
days,  sent  to  the  geographical  section,  where  they  were 
received  by  the  "  sub-section  of  ethnology".  But  ctlinology, 
the  study  of  races,  is  a  much  narrower  and  less  appropriate 
term  thau  anthropology ,  the  study  of  Man  in  his  entirety. 
Moreover,  the  relations  of  anthropology  lie  obviously  in  the 
direction  of  biology,  the  science  of  life,  rather  tlian  in  thàt  of 
geography.  The  British  Association  Iias,  therefore,  since 
1871,  recognised  anthropology  as  an  important  department 
of  the  great  science  of  biology. 

Having  acted  for  seven  years  as  Secretary  to  the  Anthro- 
pological  Department,  I  had  undertahen  to  continue  tlie 
duties  of  this  offìce  at  Swansea.  But  as  the  time  of  raeeting 
approached,  the  Council  desired  me  to  act  as  Vice-President 


WELSII   ANTIIIÎOrOLOGY.  71 

of  tlie  Section,  witli  cliarge  of  tlie  Antliropological  Depart- 
ment.  It  thus  became  my  diity  to  open  the  proceedings  of 
the  Departnieut  with  an  address.  Naturally  anxious  to  give 
local  colour  to  these  proceedings,  I  fe.lt  bound  to  deal  with 
thequestion  of  Welshanthropology — a  (piestionwhich  bristles 
witl\  such  forniidable  difüculties  that  I  approached  it  with 
diffidence,  and  handled  it  but  lightly.  Notwithstanding  the 
crudeness  and  the  defects  of  the  address,  the  editors  of  Y 
Cymmrodor  have  been  so  courteous  as  to  suggest  its  repro- 
duction  in  these  pages. 

On  looking  at  the  essay,  it  became  evident  that  in  order 
to  íìt  it  for  its  new  setting  it  would  require  some  modifica- 
tion.  I  have,  therefore,  with  the  editors'  permission,  abridged 
it  in  one  place  and  expanded  it  in  another,  so  as  to  make  it 
more  appropriate  to  its  present  position.  The  early  part  has 
been  altogether  omitted,  since  it  dealt  with  questions  of 
purely  local  interest,  The  discourse  was  opened,  in  fact,  by 
a  reference  to  tlie  difficulties  which  have  been  iniported  into 
the  ethnology  of  Glamorganshire  by  the  inílux,  of  late  years, 
of  Engiish  and  Irish  imraigrants,  and  formerly  of  Flemings, 
Norsemen,  and  yet  earlier  colonists.  But  if  we  could  strip 
off  all  extraneous  elements  which  have  been  introduced  by 
the  modern  settler  and  the  mediseval  Fleming,  possibly  also 
by  the  Norman  baron,  and  even  the  Eoman  soldier,  we 
might  eventually  lay  bare  for  anthropological  study  the 
deep-lying  stratum  of  the  population — the  original  Welsh 
element.  AYliat,  tlien,  are  the  ethnical  relations  of  the 
typical  man  of  South  Wales  ? 

Nine  people  out  of  every  ten  to  whom  this  question  might 
be  addressed  would  unhesitatingly  answer  that  the  true 
AYelsh  are  Celts  or  Kelts.^     And  they  would  seek  to  justify 

^  Wliother  this  word  should  be  writteu  Cdt  or  Kdt  seems  to  be  a 
iiuitter  of  scientitic  indifference.  Probably  the  bahauce  of  opiniou 
uniouíí  ethnulu<iistö  is  in  thc  dircction  of  thc  formcr  i*endcriug.     Ncver- 


^o' 


72  WELSII   ANTIIROPOLOGY, 

their  answer  by  a  confident  appeal  to  the  Welsh  language. 
ISTo  philologist  has  any  doubt  about  the  position  of  this 
language  as  a  member  of  the  Keltic  family.  The  Welsh 
and  the  Breton  fall  naturally  together  as  living  members  of 
a  group  of  languages,  to  which  Professor  Ehys  applies  the 
term  Bfytlionic,  a  group  which  also  includes  such  dead 
tongues  as  the  old  Cornish,  the  speech  of  the  Strathclyde 
Britons,  and  possibly  the  language  of  the  Picts  and  of  the 
Gauls.  On  tlie  other  hand,  the  Gaelic  of  Scotland,  the 
Irish,  and  the  Manx,  arrange  themselves  as  naturally  in 
another  group,  which  Professor  Ehys  distinguishes  as  the 
Goiclelic  branch  of  the  Keltic  stock.^     But  does  it  necessarily 

theless  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  word  "  celt"  is  so  commonly 
used  now-a-days  by  writers  ou  prehistoric  anthropology  to  desiguate  an 
axe-head,  or  some  such  weapou,  whether  of  metal  or  of  stone,  that  it  is 
obviously  desirable  to  make  the  difference  between  the  archíeological 
word  and  the  ethnological  term  as  clear  as  possible.  If  ethnologists 
persist  iu  writing  "  Celt",  the  two  words  differ  only  in  the  magnitude  of 
an  initial,  and  when  spoken  are  absolutely  indistinguishable.  I  shall 
therefore  write,  as  a  matter  of  expediency,  "  Kelt".  It  is  curious  to  uote 
how  the  Avord  ceìt  originally  came  to  be  used  as  the  name  of  a  weapon 
or  instrument.  The  pojíular  notion  that  it  was  because  such  weapons 
were  used  by  the  people  called  Celts  is,  I  need  hardly  say,  wholly  base- 
less.  The  sole  wrilten  warranty  for  usiug  such  a  word  appears  to  be  a 
passage  iu  the  Vulgate  versiou  of  Job,  where  the  patriarch  says  (xix, 
24)  that  he  wishes  his  words  to  be  graven  on  the  rock  with  a  chisel — 
celte.  Hence  it  has  been  supposed  that  there  was  a  Low  Latin  word, 
celtis  or  celtes^  siguifying  a  chisel,  and  conuected  with  ccelo,  to  engrave. 
But  Mr.  Knight  Watson  has  poiuted  out  that  the  word  celte,  in  the 
Latin  MSS.,  is  a  bluuder  for  certe.  All  the  MSS.  earlier  than  the 
twelfth  centiiry  give  the  latter  reading.  The  words  of  Job  are  there- 
fore  to  be  graven  ou  the  rock  for  surety — cei'te.  It  tluis  ajjpears 
that  the  word  cclt,  as  the  name  of  a  sharp-edged  tool,  has  been  founded 
on  an  eutirely  false  reading.  But  even  if  all  this  be  true,  if  we  admit 
that  there  was  originally  uo  justificatiou  for  the  use  of  the  term,  it  is 
much  too  late  in  the  day  to  attempt  to  oust  so  deeply-rooted  a  word 
from  the  vocabulary  of  the  archEeologists. 

1  Lectures  on  Welsh  PhUolotjy.     By  John   Rhŷs,  ]\[.A.,   2nd  edition, 
1878,  p.  15. 


WELSII    ANTimOPOLOGY.  73 

follow  that  all  tlie  peoples  who  are  closely  Iinked  together 
by  speaking,  or  by  having  at  some  time  spoken,  these  Keltic 
languages,  are  as  closely  linked  together  by  ties  of  blood  ? 
Cîreat  as  tlie  value  of  language  unquestionably  is  as  an  aid  to 
ethnological  classification,  are  we  c[uite  safe  in  concluding 
that  all  the  Keltic-speaking  peoples  are  one  in  race — that 
they  are  true  Kelts  ? 

The  answer  to  snch  a  question  must  needs  depend  upon 
the  sense  in  which  the  anthropologist  uses  the  word  Kelt. 
History  and  tradition,  philology  and  ethnology,  archteology 
and  craniology,  have  at  different  times  given  widely  diver- 
sent  definitions  of  the  term.  Sometimes  the  word  has  been 
used  with  such  elasticity  as  to  cover  a  multitude  of  peoples, 
who  differ  so  widely  one  from  another  in  physical  character- 
istics,  that  if  the  hereditary  persistence  of  such  qualities 
counts  for  anything,  they  cannot  possibly  be  referred  to  a 
common  stock.  Sometimes,  on  the  other  hand,  the  word 
has  been  so  restricted  in  its  defìnition,  that  it  has  actually 
excluded  the  most  typical  of  all  Kelts — the  Gaulish  Kelts 
of  Cíesar.  According  to  one  authority,  the  Kelt  is  short; 
according  to  another,  tall:  one  ethnologist  defines  him  as 
being  dark,  another  as  fair ;  this  craniologist  finds  that  he 
has  a  long  skull,  while  that  one  declares  that  his  skull  is 
short.  It  was  no  doubt  this  ambiguity  that  led  so  keen  an 
observer  as  Dr.  Beddoe  to  remark,  nearly  fifteen  years  ago, 
that  "  Kelt  and  Keltic  are  terms  which  were  useful  in  their 
day,  but  which  have  ceased  to  convey  a  distinct  idea  to  the 
minds  of  modern  students."^ 

No  anthropologist  has  laboured  more  persistently  in  en- 
deavouring  to  evoke  order  out  of  this  Keltic  chaos  than  the 
late   Dr.   Paul   Broca.      This    distinguished   anthroj)ologist 

1  Mcm.  Aììthrop.  Soc.  Lon.,  vol.  ii,  1866,  p.  348. 

2  The  following  are  BrocaV  principal  contributions  to  tliisvoxcd  qiies- 
tion: — "  Qii'est-ce  que  les  Celtes?"  BuUctins  de  lu  Société  írAìtthrojioìoc/ic 


74  WELSH    ANTHROPOLOGY. 

always  held  tliat  tlie  name  of  Kelt  slioiüd  be  strictly  limited 
to  the  Kelt  of  positive  history — to  the  people,  or  rather 
confederation  of  peoples,  actually  seen  by  Caîsar  in  Keltic 
Gaul — and,  of  course,  to  their  descendants  in  the  same  area. 
Every  schoolboy  is  familiar  with  the  epitome  of  Gaulish 
ethnology  given  by  Julius  in  his  opening  chapter.  Nothing 
can  be  clearer  than  liis  description  of  the  tripartite  division 
of  Gaul,  and  of  the  separation  between  the  three  peoples 
who  inhabited  the  country — the  BelgcC,  the  Ac[uitani,  and 
the  Celtíe.  Of  these  three  peoples  the  most  important  were 
tliose  whom  the  Eomans  called  Galli,  but  who  called  them- 
selves,  as  the  historian  tells  us,  Celtse.  The  country  occupied 
by  the  Keltic  population  stretched  from  the  Alps  to  the 
Atlantic  in  one  direction,  and  from  the  Seine  to  the  Garonne 
in  another ;  but  it  is  diftìcult  to  fìnd  any  direct  evidence 
tliat  the  Kelts  of  this  area  ever  crossed  into  Britain.  Broca 
refused  to  apply  the  name  of  Kelt  to  the  old  inhabitants  of 
Belgic  Gaul,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  he  denied  it  to  any 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  British  Isles.  "Writing  as  late  as 
1877,  in  full  view  of  all  the  argumeuts  which  had  been 
adduced  against  his  opinions,  he  still  said :  "  Je  continue  à 
soutenir,  jusqu'à  preuve  du  contraire,  ce  que  j'ai  avancé  il  y 
a  douze  ans,  dans  notre  première  discussion  sur  les  Celtes, 
savoir,  qu'il  n'existe  aucune  preuve,  qu'on  ait  constaté  dans 
les  Iles-Britanniques  l'e^istence  d'un  peuple  portant  le  nom 
de  Celtes.^ 

Nevertheless,  in  discussing  tlie  Keltic  question  witli  M. 
Henri  Martin,  he  admitted  the  convenience,  almost  the  pro- 

de  Paris,  t.  v.  p.  457  ;  "  Le  Nom  des  Celtes",  ihid.  2  sér.  t.  ix,  p.  662  ; 
''  Sur  les  Textes  relatifs  aux  Celtes  daus  le  Grande-Bretagne",  ihid. 
2  sér.  t.  xii,  p.  5ü9  ;  "  La  Race  Celtique,  ancienne  et  moderne",  Bevue 
d'Anthropologic,  t.  ii,  p.  578  ;  and  "  E.echerclies  sur  l'Ethnologie  de  la 
France",  Mêm.  de  la  Soc.  Anthrojì.^  t.  i.  p.  1. 

1  BuUctins  de  la  Socicíé  d' Anthropologic  de  Paris^  2  súr.  t.  xii,  1878, 
p.  511. 


WELSir   ANTIIROPOLOGY.  7o 

priety,  of  refcrring  to  all  who  spoke  Keltic  langiiages  as 
Rcltic  peoples,  though  of  course  he  would  not  hear  of  their 
being  called  Kelts.  "On  peut  très-bien  les  nommer  les 
peiiples  celtiques.  Mais  il  est  entièrement  faux  de  les 
appeler  les  Ccltcs,  corame  on  le  fait  si  souvent."  ^ 

Whether  we  use  the  word  Kelt  in  its  wide  linguistic  sense, 
or  in  the  narrower  sense  to  which  it  has  been  reduced  by  the 
French  anthropologists,  it  is  important  to  reniember  that  tlie 
Welsh  do  not  designate,  aud  never  have  designated  them- 
selves  by  this  term  or  by  any  similar  word.  Their  national 
name  is  Cymry,  the  plural  of  Cymro.  My  former  coUeague, 
the  Eev.  Professor  Silvan  Evfins,  kindly  informs  me  that  the 
most  probable  derivation  of  this  word  is  from  cyd-  and  hro, 
"  country",  the  old  form  of  which  is  hrog,  as  found  in  Allo- 
lro(jíe,  and  some  other  ancient  names.  The  meaning  of 
Cymry  is  therefore  "  fellow-countrymen",  or  compatriots. 
Such  a  meaning  naturally  suggests  that  the  name  must  have 
been  assumed  in  consequence  of  some  foreign  invasion — 
possibly  when  the  Welsh  were  banded  together  against 
either  the  Eomans  or  the  English.  If  this  assumption  be 
correct  it  must  be  a  word  of  comparatively  late  origin,  and 
helps  us  but  little  in  our  enquiry  into  the  early  relatious 
of  the  Welsh.  2 

'  Bulltüns  dc  la  Sociétí  d' Anthropologie  de  Paris,  t.  ix,  1874,  p.  6G2. 

2  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  the  term  Welsh  was  given  by 
the  Teutonic  invaders  to  any  people  vphom  they  found  to  be  aliens  in 
blood  and  iu  speech.  On  the  Continent  the  same  word  is  seen  in  the 
name  of  the  Walloons ;  so,  too,  \ve  find  it  in  such  place-names  as  Wiilsch- 
huìd  (Italy),  Wallachia  and  Val-lais.  lu  this  country,  the  English  called 
the  Britons  Wcalas,  or  foreigners,  aud  their  country  Weal-ci/nne.  What 
we  now  call  Wales  they  termed  North  Wales,  because  they  recognised 
another  Wales,  and  other  Welsh,  in  the  promontory  of  Cornwall  and 
Devou.  That  promontory  they  termcd  ]\'cst  Wales,  aud  a  relic  of  this 
nomeuclature  still  lingers  in  our  modern  Cormcall — the  cornu,  or  horn  of 
Wales.  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that  there  is  also  a  French  Corn- 
•\vall — the  narrow  peninsula  between  Brest  and  Quimper,  in  Finistère, 
being  kno\vn  as  CornouaiUe,  or  Cornu  Gallix.  In  thc  north  of  Englaud 
the  greiit  kingdom  of  Strathclyde  was  inhabited  by  Welsh. 


76  WELSH   ANTHEOPOLOGY. 

All  tlie  evidence  which  the  ethnologist  is  able  to  glean 
from  classical  writers  with  respect  to  the  physical  characters 
and  ethnical  relations  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  this 
countryj  may  be  put  into  a  nutshell,  with  room  to  spare. 
The  exceediníT  meao-reness  of  our  data  from  this  source  will 

o  o 

be  admitted  by  anyone  who  glances  over  the  passages  re- 
latins:  to  Britain,  which  are  collected  in  the  Monumenta 
Historica  Britannica.  As  to  tlie  people  in  the  south,  there 
is  the  well-known  statement  in  Cíesar  that  tlie  maritime 
parts  of  Britain,  the  southern  parts  which  he  personally 
Yisited,  were  peopled  by  those  who  liad  crossed  over  from 
the  Belgöe,  for  what  purpose  we  need  not  enquire.  Of  the 
Britons  of  the  interior,  wliom  he  never  saw,  he  merely 
repeats  a  popular  tradition  which  represented  thern  as  abori- 
gines.^  They  may,  therefore,  have  been  Keltic  tribes,  akin 
to  the  Celti  of  Gaul,  though  there  is  nothing  in  Caìsar's 
words  to  support  such  a  view. 

Tacitus,  in  writing  the  life  of  his  father-in-law,  Agricola, 
says  that  the  Britons  nearest  to  Gaul  resembled  the  Gauls.'^ 
If  he  refers  here  to  the  sea-coast  tribes  in  the  south-east  of 
Britain,  the  comparison  must  be  with  the  Belgic  and  not 
with  the  Keltic  Gauls.  But  his  subsequent  reference  to  the 
resemblance  between  the  sacred  rites  of  the  Britons  and 
these  of  the  Gauls  suggests  that  his  remarhs  may  be  fairly 
extended  to  the  inland  tribes  beyond  the  liniits  of  the  Belgic 
Britons,  in  which  case  the  resemblance  may  be  rather  with 
the  Gaulish  Kelts.  Indeed,  this  inference,  apart  from  the 
testimony  of  language,  is  the  chief  evidence  upon  whicli 
ethnologists  have  based  tlieir  conclusion  as  to  the  ICeltic 
origin  of  the  Britons, 

1  "  Britannife  pars  interior  ab  iis  incolitur,  quos  natos  in  insula  ipsi 
memoria  proditum  dicunt :  maritima  pars  ab  iis,  qui  pra^dse  ac  belli  in- 
ferendi  causa  ex  Belgis  transiorant." — Dc  Beìhi  (laìlicd^  lib.  v,  c.  12. 

2  "  Proximi  Gallis  ct  similcs  sunt." — Agricoìa^  c.  xi. 


WELSII    ANTHROPOLOGY.  77 

Our  data  for  restoring  tlie  anthropological  cliaracteristics 
of  the  ancient  Britons  are  Lut  few  and  small.     It  is  true 
that  a  description  of  Bunduica,  or  Boadicea,  has  heen  left  to 
ns  by  Xiphiline,  of  Trebizond ;  but  then  it  wiU  be  objected 
that  he  did  not  write  until  the  twelfth  century.   Yet  it  must 
be  remembered  that  he  merely  abridged  the  works  of  Dion 
Cassius,  the  historian,  who  wrote  a  thousand  years  earlier, 
and  consequently  we  have  grounds  for  believing  that  what 
Xiphiline  describes  is  simply  a  description  taken  from  tlie 
lost  books  of  an  early  historian  who  is  supposed  to  have 
drawn  his  information  from  original  sources.     Now  Boadicea 
is  described  in  these  terms :  "  She  was  of  the  largest  size, 
most  terrible  of  aspect,   most   savage  of  countenance  and 
harsh  of  voice,  having  a  profusion  of  yellow  hair  which  fell 
dov/n  to  lier  hips."^     Making  due  allowance  for  rhetorical 
exaggeration,  making  allowance,  too,  for  the  fact  that  in  con- 
sequence  of  her  royal  descent  she  is  likely  to  liave  been 
above  the  average  stature,  and  even  admitting  that  she  dyed 
lier  liair — a  practice  not  uncommon  among  many  ancient 
tribes — it  is  yet  clear  that  this  British  queen  must  be  re- 
garded  as  belonging  to  the  xanthous  type — tall  and  fair. 
Tlie  tribe  of  the  Iceni,  over  wliich  this  blonde  amazon  ruled, 
is  generally  placed  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Belgic  Britons ; 
though  some  authorities  have  argued  in  favour  of  its  Belgic 
origin.     If  the  latter  view  be  correct,  we  should  expect  the 
queen  to  be  tall,  light-haired,  and  blue-eyed ;  for,  from  what 
we  know  of  the  Belgíe,  such  were  tlieir  features.     Ca3sar 
asserts  that  the  majority  of  the  Belgai  were  derived  from 
the  Germans.2    j>-^^^   notwithstanding   this   asserfion,   most 
ethnologists  are  inclined  to  ally  them  with  the  Celti,  with- 
out,  of  course,  denying  a  strong  Teutonic  admixture.    Strabo 

1  il/oH.  Ilist.  Brit.,  Excerpta,  p.  ]vi. 

2  "Plerosque  Belgas  csse  ortos  ab  Geriuautó.'' — De  BlUo  Gull.,  lib. 
ii,  c.  4. 


78  WELSH   ANTHROPOLOGY. 

says^  that  tlic  Eelgffi  and  Celti  liacl  the  same  Gaulish  form, 
though  both  diífered  widely  in  physical  characters  from  the 
Aquitanians.  As  to  language,  Cöesar's  statement  that  the 
Belgic  and  Keltic  differed,  prohably  refers  only  to  dialectical 
differences.^  If  a  close  ethnical  relationship  can  be  esta- 
blished  between  the  Celti  and  the  Belgce,  British  ethnology 
clearly  gains  in  simplification.  To  what  extent  the  Belgic 
settlers  in  this  country  resembled  the  neighbouring  British 
tribes  must  remain  a  moot  point.  According  to  Strabo,^ 
the  Britons  were  taller  than  the  Celti,  with  hair  less  yellow, 
and  they  were  slighter  in  build.  By  the  French  school  of 
ethnologists  the  Belgffi  are  identified  with  the  Cymry,  and 
are  described  as  a  tall  fair  people,  similar  to  the  Cimbri 
already  mentioned ;  and  Dr.  Prichard,  the  founder  of  English 
anthropology,  was  led  long  ago  to  describe  the  Keltic  type 
in  similar  terms.* 

Yet,  as  we  pass  across  Britain  westwards,  and  advance 
towards  those  parts  which  are  reputed  to  be  predomi- 
nently  Keltic,  tlie  proportion  of  tall  fair  folk,  speaking  in 
general  terms,  diminishes,  while  the  short  and  dark  element 
in  the  population  increases,  until  it  probably  attains  its 
maximum  somewhere  in  South  Wales.  As  popular  impres- 
sions  are  apt  to  lead  us  astray,  let  us  turn  for  accuracy  to 
the  valuable  mass  of  statistics  coUected  in  Dr.  Beddoe's 
well-known  paper  "  On  tlie  Stature  and  Bulk  of  Man  in  tlie 
British  Isles",^  a  paper  to  which  every  student  refers  with 
imfailing  confidence,  aud  which  wiU  probably  remain  our 

1  Lib.  iv,  c.  i. 

2  "  Quand  César  dit:  Hi  omnes  lingua^  institutis^  lef/ibus^  inter  se  dif- 
ferunt^  il  faut  traduire  ici  le  mot  lingna  par  dialecte.^^ — Les  Dernicrs 
Bretons.     Par  Emile  Souvestre,  vol.  i,  p.  141. 

3  Lib.  iv,  c.  5. 

*  Researches  into  the  Physical  History  of  Manlcind.  By  J.  C.  Pricliard, 
M.D.,  F.R.S.,  vol.  iii,  p.  189. 

û  Mem.  Anfhrop.  Soc.  Lond.,  vol.  iii,  1870,  p.  ÖS-i. 


WELSII   ANTHROPOLOGY.  79 

standnrd  authority  until  the  labonrs  of  our  Anthropometric 
Committee  are  suíliciently  matured  for  puLlication.  Dr. 
Beddoe,  summing  up  his  observations  on  the  physical  clia- 
racters  of  the  Welsh  as  a  whole,  defines  them  as  of  "  short 
stature,  with  good  weight,  and  a  tendency  to  darhness  of 
eyes,  hair,  and  skin".  Dr.  Beddoe,  in  another  paper.i  indi- 
cated  the  tendency  to  darhness  by  a  numerical  expressiou 
which  he  termed  the  index  of  nigrescence.  "  In  the  coast- 
districts  and  low-lands  of  Llonmouthshire  and  Glamorgan, 
the  ancient  seats  of  Saxon,  Norman,  and  Flemish  colonisa- 
tion,  I  find",  says  this  observer,  "the  indices  of  hair  and 
eyes  so  low  as  33.5  and  63 ;  while  in  the  interior,  excluding 
the  chihlren  of  English  and  Irish  immigrants,  the  fìgures 
rise  to  57.3  and  109.5 — this  last  ratio  indicating  a  prevalence 
of  dark  eyes  surpassing  what  I  have  met  with  in  any  other 
part  of  Britain"  (p.  43). 

Many  years  ago,  Mr.  Matthew  Moggridge  furnished  the 
authors  of  the  Crania  Britannica  with  notes  of  the  pliysical 
characteristics  of  the  AYelsh  of  Glamorganshire.  He  defined 
the  people  as  having  "  eyes  (long)  bright,  of  dark  or  hazel 
colour,  hair  generally  black,  or  a  very  dark  brown,  lank, 
generally  late  in  turning  grey."^ 

There  can  be  no  question,  then,  as  to  the  prevalence  of 
melanism  in  this  district.  Nor  does  it  seem  possible  to 
account  for  this  tendency,  as  some  anthropologists  have 
suggested,  by  tlie  influence  of  the  surrounding  media.  Even 
those  who  believe  most  firmly  in  the  potency  of  the  envi- 
ronment  will  hardly  be  inclined  to  accept  the  opinion 
seriously  entertained  some  years  ago  by  the  Eev.  T.  rrice, 
that  the  black  eyes  of  Glamorganshire  are  due  to  the  pre- 

1  "  Ou  the  Testimony  of  Local  Phenomena  in  the  West  of  England 
to  the  Permanence  of  Authropological  Types." — Ihid.,  vol.  ii,  18C6, 
p.  37. 

2  Crav.  Brit..  vol.  i,  p.  53. 


80  WELSH   ANTHUOPOLOGY. 

yalence  of  coal  fires.^  Long  before  coal  came  into  use  tliere 
was  tlie  same  tendency  to  nigrescence  among  tlie  Welsli. 
This  may  be  seen,  as  Dr.  Nicholas  has  pointed  out,  in  the 
bardic  names  preserved  in  ancient  Welsli  records,  where  the 
cognomen  of  du,  or  "  black",  very  frequently  occurs.  Thiis, 
in  the  Mìjvyrian  Archaiology  of  Wales,  between  a.d.  1280 
and  1330,  there  are  registered  four  "blacks"  to  one  "red" 
and  one  "grey" — namely,  Gwilym  Ddu,  Llywelyn  Ddu, 
Goronwy  Ddu,  and  Dafydd  Ddur' 

The  oriüfin  of  this  dark  element  in  the  Welsh  is  to  be 
explained,  as  everyone  wiU  have  anticipated,  by  reference 
to  the  famous  passage  in  Tacitus,  wliich  has  been  worn 
tlireadbare  by  ethnologists.  Tacitus  tells  us  that  the  ancient 
British  tribe  of  Silures — a  tribe  inhabiting  what  is  now 
Glamorganshire,  Monmoutbshire,  Herefordshire,  and  parts  at 
least  of  Brecknockshire  and  Radnor — had  a  swarthy  com- 
plexion,  mostly  with  curly  hair,  and  that  from  their  situation 
opposite  to  Spain  tliere  was  reason  to  believe  that  the 
Iberians  had  passed  over  the  sea  and  gained  possession 
of  the  coimtry.^  It  will  be  obseiwed  that  although  Tacitus 
speaks  of  their  dark  complexion,  he  does  not  definitely  state 
that  the  liair  was  dark ;  but  this  omission  has,  curiously 
enough,  been  supplied  by  Jornandes,  a  Goth,  who,  in  the 
sixth  century,  wrote  a  work  whicli  professes  to  be  an  extract 
from  the  lost  history  of  Cassiodorus,  wherein  the  very  words 
of  Tacitus   are   reproduced   with    the   necessary   addition.* 

^  Essay  on  the  Physiognomy  and  Physiology  of  tlie  Present  Inhahitants 
of  Britain,  1829. 

2  The  Pedigrec  nf  the  EngJish  Penpìe,  fifth  edition,  1878,  p.  4G7. 

3  "  Silurum  colorati  vultus  et  torti  plerumque  crines,  et  posita  contra 
Ilispania,  Iberos  yeteres  trajecisse,  easc[ue  sedes  occupasse,  fìdem 
faciunt." — Agricola^  c.  xi. 

*  "  Sylorum  (  =  Silurum)  colorati  vultus,  torto  plerique  crine,  ct  nigro 
nascuntur." — Dc  Echus  Gcticis,  c.  ii;  quoted  in  il/on.  Hist.  Brit.,  Ex- 
cerpta,  p.  lxxxiii.     It  is  coujectured  tliat  the  classical  word  Siluì-es  is 


WELSH   ANTIIROPOLOGY.  81 

Witli  these  passages  before  us,  can  we  reasonably  doubt 
that  the  swart  blood  in  tlie  Welsh  of  the  present  day  is 
a  direct  legacy  from  their  Silurian  ancestors  ? 

Setting  what  Tacitus  here  says  about  the  Silures  against 
what  he  says  in  the  next  sentence  about  the  Britons  nearest 
to  Gaul  (p.  76),  it  is  clearthat  we  must  recognise  a  duality  of 
type  in  the  population  of  Southern  Britain  in  his  day.  This 
fact  has  been  clearly  pointed  out  by  Professor  Huxley  as 
one  of  the  few  "  fìxed  points  in  British  ethnology".^  At  tlie 
dawn  of  history  in  this  country,  eighteen  centuries  ago, 
the  population  was  not  homogeueous,  but  contained  repre- 
sentatÌYes  both  of  Professor  Huxley's  Melanochroi  and  of  his 
Xantlwchroi.  If  we  have  any  regard  whatever  for  the  per- 
sistence  of  anthropological  types,  we  sliould  hesitate  to  refer 
both  of  these  to  one  and  the  same  elementary  stock.  We 
are  led,  then,  to  ask  which  of  these  two  types,  if  either,  is  to 
be  regarded  as  Keltic  ? 

It  is  because  both  of  these  types,  in  turn,  have  been  called 
Keltic  that  so  much  confusion  has  been  imported  into  ethuo- 
logical  nomenclature.  The  common-sense  conclusion,  there- 
fore,  seems  to  be  that  neither  type  can  strictly  be  termed 
Keltic,  and  that  such  a  term  had  better  be  used  only  in 
linguistic  anthropology,  Tlie  Kelt  is  merely  a  person  who 
speaks  a  Keltic  language,  quite  regardless  of  his  race,  though 
it  necessarily  follows  that  all  persons  who  speak  similar 
languages,  if  not  actually  of  one  blood,  must  have  been  at 
some  period  of  their  history  in  close  social  contact.  In  this 
sense,  all  the  inhaljitants  of  Britaiu  at  the  period  of  the  Eoman 
iuvasion,  notwithstanding  the  distinction  between  Xanthro- 

derÌYcd  from  the  British  iiame  Essìjllw;/r,  the  people  of  Essì/Ihrç,  Sce 
Nichülass  Ilistnrij  of  (j'lamurijaìishiìr,  1874,  p.  1.  It  is  dillicult  to  detcr- 
miue  how  far  aud  iu  -what  respects  the  Silures  resemblcd,  or  diffcred 
from,  the  other  inhaud  tribes.  Of  tlie  Caledouiaus  and  of  the  Bclgae  we 
kuo\v  somethiug,  but  of  the  othcr  inhabitauts  wc  are  ç[uite  iguorant. 
^  Critiqucs  and  Adürcsÿcs,  p.  106. 

VOL.  IV.  G 


82  WELSH   ANTIIROrOLOGY. 

chroi  and  Melanocliroi,  were  probaLly  to  be  styled  Kelts. 
Tbere  can  be  little  doiibt  tbat  tbe  xantbous  Britons  always 
spoke  a  Keltic  tongne ;  but  it  is  not  so  easy  to  decide  wbat 
was  tbe  original  speecb  of  tbeir  melanocbroic  neigbbours. 

Tbe  existence  of  two  types  of  population,  dark  and  fair, 
side  by  side,  is  a  pbenomenon  wbicb  was  repeated  in  ancient 
Gaul.  As  tbe  Silures  were  to  Britain,  so  were  tbe  Aquitani 
to  Gaul — tbey  were  tbe  dark  Iberian  element.  Strabo  states 
tbat  wbile  tbe  natives  of  Keltic  and  Belgic  Gaul  resembled 
eacb  otlier,  tbe  Acpiitanians  differed  in  tbeir  pbysical  cba- 
racters  from  botb  of  tbese  peoples,  and  resembled  tbe  Iberians. 
But  Tacitus  bas  left  on  record  tbe  opinion  tbat  tbe  Silures 
also  resembled  tbe  Iberians ;  bence  tbe  conclusion  tbat  tbe 
Silures  and  tbe  Aquitaniaus  were  more  or  less  alike.  Now 
it  is  generally  believed  tbat  tbe  relics  of  tbe  old  Aquitanian 
population  are  still  to  be  found  lingering  in  tbe  neigbbour- 
bood  of  tbe  Pyrenees,  being  represented  at  tbe  present  day 
by  tbe  Basques.  A  popular  notion  bas  tbus  got  abroad  tbat 
tbe  ancient  Silures  must  bave  been  remotely  afbned  to  tbe 
Basque  populations  of  rrance  and  Spain.  Nevertbeless,  tbe 
modern  Basques  are  so  mixed  a  race  tbat,  altbougb  retaining 
tbeir  ancient  language,  tbeir  pbysical  cbaracters  bave  been 
so  modified  tbat  we  can  bardly  expect  to  find  in  tbem  tbe 
features  of  tlie  old  Silurians.  Tbus,  according  to  tbe  Eev. 
Wentwortb  Webster,  tbe  average  colour  of  tbe  Basque  bair 
at  tbe  present  day  is  not  darker  tlmn  cbestnut.^ 

Neitber  does  language  render  us  any  aid  towards  solving 
tbe  Basque  problem.  If  tbe  Silures  were  in  tbis  country 
prior  to  tbe  advent  of  tbe  Cymry,  and  if  tliey  were  cognate 
witli  tbe  Basques,  it  seems  ouly  reasonable  to  suppose  tbat 
some  spoor  of  tbeir  Iberian  speecb,  bowever  scant,  migbt 
still  be  lingering  amongst  us.     Yet  pbilologists  bave  sougbt 

1  "The   Basque   and   tlie    Kelt." — Joiirn.    Anthrop.    I?isf.,    vol.    v, 
1876,  p.  5. 


■WELSH   ANTIIIiOPOLOGY.  83 

in  vain  for  the  traces  of  any  Euskarian  element  in  the  Cym- 
raog.  Our  distinguished  member,H.I.H.  Prince  Louis  Lucien 
Bonaparte,  perhaps  the  only  philologist  in  this  country  who 
has  a  right  to  spealc  with  authority  on  such  a  subject,  has 
obligingly  informed  me  that  he  knows  of  no  connexion 
"\vhatever  between  tlie  two  lauguages,  Still,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  tlie  Iberian  affinity  of  the  Sihires,  sug- 
gested  by  the  remarh  of  Tacitus,  does  not  necessarily  mean 
Bascj[ue  affinity.  Some  philologists  have  even  denied  that 
the  Basc[ues  are  Tberians.^  All  tliat  we  seelc  at  present  to 
establish  is  this — that  the  dark  Britons,  represented  by  the 
tribe  of  Silures,  altliougli  they  came  to  be  a  Keltic-speaking 
people,  \vere  distinct  in  race  from  the  fair  Britons,  and, 
tlierefore,  in  all  likeliliood  were  originally  distinct  in  speech. 
Nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that  relics  of  a  pre-Keltic  non- 
Aryan  people  have  been  detected  in  a  few  place-names  in 
Wales.  Thus,  Professor  Rliŷs  is  inclined  to  refer  to  this 
category  such  names  as  Menapia,  Mona,  and  IMynwy  ^ — the 
last-named  being  a  place  (Monmouth)  withiii  the  territory 
of  the  old  Silures.  On  the  wliole,  it  seems  to  uie  safer  to 
foUow  Professor  Eolleston  in  speahing  of  the  dark  pre-Keltic 
element  as  Silurian  rather  than  as  Basque  or  as  Iberian.^ 

There  is,  however,  c|uite  another  quarter  to  which  the 
anthropologist  who  is  engaged  in  this  iuvestigation  may 
turu  with  fair  promise  of  reward.  The  late  Dr.  Tlmrnam, 
more  than  fifteen  years  ago,  wrote  a  singularly  suggestive 
paper  "  On  the  Two  Principal  Forms  of  Ancient  British  and 
Gaulish   Slculls".'*      The   long-continued   researches   of  tliis 

1  "La  Langue  Ibérienne  et  la  Lauguc  Basque."  Par  M.  Yan  Eys. 
Jìíttie  de  Lui(juistiquc.     July  1874. 

2  "Lecturos  on  Welsh  Philology,"  2ncl  ed.,  p.  181. 

3  British  Barrows,  by  Canon  GreenwcU  aud  Professor  Rollcstou,  p. 
630. 

*  Memoirs  o/  the  Anthrop.  Soc.  Loud.,  vol.  i,  1865,  p.  120  ;  vol.  iii, 
1870,  p.  41. 

g2 


84  WELSII   ANTHROPOLOGY. 

eminent  archaeological  anatoniist  led  him  to  the  concliision 
that  the  ohlest  sepulchres  of  this  country — the  chambered 
and  other  long  barrows  wliicli  lie  explored  in  Wilts  and 
Gloucestershire  —  invariably  contained  the  remains  of  a 
dolichocephalic  people,  who  were  of  short  stature,  and 
apparently  were  unacquainted  with  the  use  of  metals.  The 
absence  of  metal  would  aloue  raise  a  suspicion  that  these 
elongated  tumuli  were  older  than  the  round,  conoidal,  or 
bell-shaped  barrows,  M'hich  contain  ol)jects  of  bronze,  if  not 
of  iron,  with  or  without  weapons  of  stone,  and  commonly 
associated  with  the  remains  of  a  taller  brachycephalic 
people.^ 

Even  before  Dr.  Thurnam  forcibly  pointed  attention  to 
this  distinction,  it  had  been  independently  observed  by  so 
experienced  a  barrow-opener  as  the  late  Mr.  Bateman,^ 
whose  researches  were  conducted  in  cj[uite  another  part  of 
the  country — the  district  of  the  ancient  Cornavii.  More- 
over,  Professor  Daniel  Wilson's  studies  in  Scotland  had  led 
him  to  conclude  that  the  earliest  population  of  Britain  were 
dolichocephalic,  and  possessed,  in  fact,  a  form  of  skull  which, 
from  its  boat-like  shape,  he  termed  hiLiìibecephalic.^  Nor 
should  it  be  forgotten  that  as  far  back  as  1844  the  late 
Sir  W.   R.   Wilde  expressed  his  belief  that  in  Ireland  the 

1  It  may  be  useful  to  remark  that  authropologists  speak  of  people  as 
doUchocephalic .,  or  long-headed,  if  the  breadth  of  their  skull  bears  to  its 
leugtli  a  ratio  of  less  than  80  to  100.  Ou  the  other  hand,  people  are 
Irachuccjìlialìc,  or  short-headed,  wheu  measuremcnt  shows  that  length  : 
breadth  :  :  80  (or  more)  :  100.  In  spite  of  the  pleouasm,  we  occasioually 
speak  of  brachycephalic  and  dolichocephalic  skulls.  The  ternis  "  long- 
headed"  and  "  short-lieaded"  are,  of  course,  always  used  to  designate 
\ong-slulletl  aud  ähoTt-sJcuUed  people — never  to  designate  a  long  or  short 
/ace.  It  may  seem  puerile  to  add  such  a  remark,  yet  non-anthropolo- 
gical  people  have  occasiouully  described  a  man  as  loug-headed  when 
they  merely  meant  long-visaged. 

2  Ten  Years'  Digglugs,  18G1,  p.  1-16. 

3  l'nhistoric  Annals  of  Scotland,  1851. 


WELSII   ANTIIROPOLOGY.  85 

most  ancient  type  of  skull  is  a  long  skull,  wliicli  lie  held  to 
beloug  to  a  dark-eomplexionecl  people,  probably  aboriginal, 
who  were  succeeded  by  a  fair,  round-headed  race.^ 

But  while  this  succession  of  races  was  recognised  by 
sevéral  observers,  it  remained  for  Dr.  Thurnam  to  formulate 
the  relation  between  the  sliape  of  the  skull  and  that  of  the 
barrow,  in  a  neat  aphorism,  which  has  become  a  standing 
dictum  iu  anthropology :  "  Long  barrows,  long  shulls ;  round 
barrows,  round  skulls ;  dolichotaphic  barrows,  dolicho- 
cephalic  crania;  brachytaphic  barrows,  brachy-cephalic 
crania."  N"o  doubt  exceptional  cases  may  occur  in  wliich 
round  shulls  have  been  found  in  long  barrows,  but  these 
have  generally  been  explained  as  being  due  to  secondary 
interments.  On  the  other  hand,  the  occasional  presence  of 
long  skulls  in  round  barrows  presents  no  difficulty,  since  no 
one  supposes  that  the  early  dolichocephali  were  exterminated 
by  the  brachycephali,  and  it  is,  therefore,  probable  that 
during  the  bronze-using  period,  when  round  tumuli  were  iu 
general  use,  the  two  peoples  may  have  dwelt  side  by  side, 
the  older  race  being,  perhaps,  in  a  state  of  subjugation. 

It  is  not  pretended  that  Thurnam's  apophthegm  has  more 
than  a  local  application.  "  This  axiom",  its  author  admitted, 
"  is  evidently  not  ajîplicable,  unless  with  considerable  linii- 
tations,  to  France."  Although  it  is  here  called  an  "  axiom", 
it  is  by  no  means  a  self-evident  proposition,  the  relation 
between  the  shape  of  the  skull  and  the  shape  of  the  burial- 
mound  being  purely  arbitrary.  The  proposition  which  con- 
nects  the  two  is  simply  the  expression  of  the  results  of 
accumulated  observations,  and  it  is,  of  course,  open  to  doubt 
whether  the  number  of  observations  was  sufficiently  great  to 
warrant  the  generalisation,  But  the  only  test  of  the  validity 
of  any  induction  lies  in  its  verification  when  applied  to  fresh 
instances,  and  it  is  reràarkablc  that  when  loug  barrows  and 
^  On  the  Ethìioloíjj  of  ihe  Ancient  Irish. 


86  WELSH   ANTIIROPOLOGY. 

chambered  tumuli  liave  siuce  been  opened  in  this  country 
the  BYÌdence  has  tended  in  the  main  to  confirm  Dr.  Thurnam's 
proposition ;  still,  we  must  regard  it  only  as  the  expression 
of  a  local  custom,  and  not  of  a  general  truth. 

It  is  commonly  believed  that  the  brachycephali  of  the 
round  barrows  came  in  contact  with  the  dolichocephali  as  an 
invading,  and  ultimately  as  a  conquering,  race.  Not  only 
were  they  armed  ^vith  superior  weapons — supèrior  in  so  far 
as  a  metal  axe  is  a  better  weapon  than  a  stone  axe — but 
they  were  a  taller  and  more  powerful  people.  Thurnam's 
measurements  of  femora  led  to  tlie  conclusion  tliat  the 
avcrage  lieight  of  the  brachycephali  was  5  feet  8.4  inches, 
while  that  of  the  long-headed  men  was  only  5  feet  5.4 
inches.^  ISTot  only  were  they  taller,  but  tliey  were  probably 
a  fiercer  and  more  warlihe  race.  In  the  slculls  from  the 
round  barrows  the  superciliary  ridges  are  more  prominent, 
the  nasals  diverge  at  a  more  abrupt  angle,  the  cheek-bones 
are  high,  and  the  lower  jaw  projects,  giving  the  face  an 
aspect  of  ferocity,  which  contrasts  unfavourably  with  the 
mild  features  of  the  earlier  stone-using  people. 

On  the  whole,  then,  the  researches  of  archíeological  anato- 
mists  tend  to  prove  tlmt  this  country  was  tenanted  in  ante- 
historic  or  pre-Roman  times  by  two  peoples,  who  were 
ethnically  distinct  from  each  other.  It  is  difficult  to  resist 
the  temptation  of  applying  tliis  to  the  ethnogeny  of  Wales. 
Does  it  not  seem  probable  that  the  early  short  race  of  long- 
shuUed,  mild-featured,  stone-using  people  may  have  been' 
the  ancestors  of  the  swarthy  Silurians  of  Tacitus ;  while 
the  later  tall  race  of  round-skulled,  rugged-featured,  bronze- 
using  men  may  have  represented  the  broad-lieaded,  Iveltic- 
speahing  folk  of  history  ?  At  any  rate,  the  evidence  of 
craniology  does  not  run  counter  to  this  hypothesis.  For 
Dr.  Beddoe's  observations  on  head-forms  in  tlie  West  of 
1  Mem.  Aììthrop.  Soc.  Lond.,  vol.  iii,  1870,  p.  73. 


WELSII   ANTIIROPOLOGY.  «7 

England  have  shown  that  "  heads  which  are  ordinarily  called 
brachycephalic  belonged  for  the  most  part  to  individuals 
Mith  light  hair",  while  the  short  dark-haired  people  whoin 
he  exaniined  were  niarkedly  dolichocephalic^  At  the  same 
time,  it  must  be  admitted  that  his  observations  leud  "  no  sup- 
port  to  the  view  that  the  Keltic  skull  has  been,  or  would  ìjc 
narrowed  by  an  admixture  of  the  Iberian  type".  It  sliould 
not,  however,  be  forgotteu  that  the  same  observer,  in  refer- 
ring  to  a  collectiou  of  crania  from  the  Bascj[ue  country,  pre- 
served  in  Paris,  says  "  the  form  of  M.  Broca's  Basque  crania 
was  very  much  that  of  some  modern  Silurian  heads".^ 

According  to  the  view  advocated  by  Thurnam  we  have 
a  right  to  anticipate  that  tlie  oldest  skulls  found  in  this 
couutry  would  be  of  dolichocephaloiis  type ;  and  such  I 
believe  to  be  actually  the  case.  Dr.  Barnard  Davis,  it  is 
true,  has  stated  in  the  Crania  Britannica  that  the  ancient 
British  slaiU  must  be  referred  to  tlie  brachycephalic  type ; 
and  such  an  induction  was  perfectly  legitimate  so  long  as 
the  craniologist  dealt  only  with  skulls  from  the  round 
barrows  or  from  similar  interments.  But  the  long-barrow 
skulls  examined  by  Professor  Ptolleston,^  aud  the  Cissbury 
skulls  receutly  studied  by  the  same  anatomist,^  are  decidedly 
dolichocephalic,  as  also  are  all  tlie  early  prehistoric  skulls 
which  have  been  found  of  late  years  in  France. 

It  raay  naturally  be  asked  whether  tlie  researches  of 
archaîologists  iu  Wales  lend  auy  support  to  Thuruam's 
liypothesis.  Nothing,  I  couceive,  would  be  easier  than  to 
show  that  very  material  support  has  come  from  this  c|uarter; 
but  I  have  abstained,  of  set  purpose,  from  iutroduciug  into 
this  papcr  any  reniarks  oii  tlie  prehistoric  archaiology  of 

»  Mcm.  Aìiihrop.  Soc.  Lomi,  vol.  ii,  ISGG,  p.  350.  2  //,/,/^  p_  q^q 

3  "  On  the  Peoijle  of  the  Long  Barrow  Period,"  Journ.  Antliroj).  /«*•/., 
vol.  V,  187G,  p.  120. 

•»  liid.,  vol.  vi,  1877,  p.  20  ;  vol.  viii,  1879,  p.  377. 


88  WELSH  ANTHROPOLOGY. 

Wales.  For  I  had  an  opportunity,  only  a  few  months  ago, 
of  lecturing  before  this  Society  upon  this  very  suhject,  and 
1  then  submitted  to  niy  fellow-members  such  evidence  as 
seemed  to  me  to  support  the  conclusions  enunciated  above. 
In  connexion  with  this  subject,  I  may,  however,  especially 
refer  to  the  valuable  researches  of  my  friend,  Professor  Boyd 
Dawhins,  more  particularly  to  his  discovery  of  platycnemic, 
or  ílat-shinned,  skeletons  in  chambered  graves  in  Denbigh- 
shire,  which  may  be  referred  to  the  neolithic  or  later  stone- 
age.^ 

But,  setting  aside  any  archseological  evidence  derived 
from  the  bone-caves,  barrows,  or  other  sepulchres  in  Wales, 
we  may  fìnally  look  at  the  outcome  of  our  inquiry  into 
Welsh  ethnogeny.  If  we  admit,  as  it  seems  to  me  we  are 
bound  to  admit,  the  existence  of  two  distinct  ethnical  ele- 
ments  in  the  Welsh  population,  one  of  which  is  short,  dark, 
and  dolichocephalic — call  it  Silurian,  Atlantean,  Iberian, 
Basque,  or  what  you  will ;  and  the  other  of  which  is  tall, 
fair,  and  brachycephalic,  such  as  some  term  Cymric,  and 
üthers  Lignrian;  tlien  it  follows  that  by  the  crossing  of 
these  two  races  we  may  obtain  not  only  individuals  of  inter- 
mediate  character,  but  occasionally  more  complex  combi- 
nations ;  for  example,  an  individual  may  have  the  short 
stature  and  long  head  of  the  one  race,  associated  with  the 
lighter  hair  of  the  other ;  or  again,  the  tall  stature  of  one  may 
be  foimd  in  association  witli  the  melanism  and  dolichoce- 
phalism  of  the  other  race.  It  is.  therefore,  no  objection  to 
the  views  herein  expressed  if  we  can  point  to  a  living 
Welshman  who  happens  to  be  at  once  tall  and  dark,  or  to 
another  who  is  short  and  fair. 

At  the  same  time,  I  am  by  no  means  disposed  to  admit 

1  For  Frof.  Boyd  Dawtins'  contributions  to  the  subject  see  his  in- 
teresting  worlis  on  Care-lmnthìg,  187.4,  and  on  Early  Man  in  Briiain, 

1880. 


WELSH   ANTIIROrOLOGY.  89 

tliat  M-hen  we  have  recognised  the  nnion  of  the  xanthous 
and  melanic  elements  in  Wales,  with  a  predoniinance  of  the 
latter  in  the  south,  we  have  approached  to  anything  like  the 
exhausting  limit  of  the  subject.  StiU  earlier  races  may  have 
dwelt  in  the  land,  and  have  contributed  something  to  the 
composition  of  the  Welsh.  In  fact,  the  anthropologist  may 
say  of  a  Welshman,  as  a  character  in  "  Cymbeline"  says  of 
Posthumus,  when  doubtful  about  his  pedigree, 

"  I  cacnot  delve  him  to  the  root." 

It  Ì3  possible  that  the  roots  of  the  Welsh  may  reach  far 
down  into  some  hidden  primitive  stock,  older  mayhap  than 
the  Neolithic  ancestors  of  the  Silurians  ;  but  of  such  pristine 
people  we  have  no  direct  evidence.  So  far,  however,  as 
positive  investigation  has  gone,  we  may  safely  conclude  that 
the  Welsh  are  the  representatives,  in  large  proportion,  of  a 
very  ancient  race  or  races ;  and  that  they  are  a  composite 
peojìle  who  may  perhaps  be  best  defined  as  Siluro-Cymric. 


90 


THE  PEESENT   AND   FUTURE  OF  WALES. 

AN   ADDRESS 

DELIYEllED   TO   TIIE   CYMMEODORION    SECTION    OF   TIIE 
NATIONAL   EISTEDDFOD    OF    1880. 

By   LEWIS    MORRIS,   M.A.,   Honorary  Fellow   of   Jesus   College, 
Oxford ;  Presideat  of  the  Section. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen, — We  are  met  here  tliis  evening 
to  re-establisli,  if  possible,  tiie  Social  Science  Section  of  tlie 
National  Eisteddfod,  wliicli,  commencing,  I  tliink,  in  tlie  year 
1862,  under  the  patronage  of  tlie  Conncil  of  the  Eisteddfod, 
was  discoutinued  when  tliat  Council  ceased  to  exist,  some 
ten  or  more  years  afterwards.  From  that  time  to  the 
National  Eisteddfod  held  at  Birlcenliead,  in  1878,  there  was 
nothing  to  answer  to  the  former  Social  Science  Section.  In 
the  last-named  year,  an  attempt  was  again  made  to  revive 
tlie  institution,  under  the  excellent  presidency  of  my  frieud 
Professor  Hughes,  and  papers  of  great  ability  and  interest 
w^ere  read  by  various  distinguished  men.  But  whether  it 
was  that  the  subjects  chosen  for  the  papers  M'ere  not  sufli- 
ciently  interesting  to  Welshmen  as  such,  or  that  the  hour  and 
place  of  meeting  were  not  well  chosen,  or  that  at  Birheuhead 
people  only  care  to  be  amused,  the  fact  undoubtedly  is,  that 
the  attendance  was  lamentably  small — so  small,  indeed,  that 
the  experiment  coUapsed  before  the  Eisteddfod  meeting  came 
to  an  end.  I  think  it  quite  possible  that  if  that  attempt  had 
been  made  at  Carnarvon,  or  in  any  other  real  national  centre, 
the  result  might  have  been  very  diíîerent :  and  I  am  inclined 
to  deprecate  the  repetition  of  the  experience  of  an  Eisteddfod 
lield  out  of  AYales,  and  attended  by  a  motley  assemblage  of 


THE  PRESENT   AND   FÜTURE   OF   WALES.  91 

people,  cliieíly  attracted  by  a  vague  curiosity.  But  tlie  rcal 
lesson  of  these  repeated  attempts  and  failures  is  to  me  a  very 
instructive  oue.  I  do  think  they  point  to  a  conviction,  on 
the  part  of  the  most  thoughtful  Welshmeu,  that  tlie  Eistedd- 
fod  as  it  at  present  is  constituted,  interesting  and  creditaLle 
as  it  undoubtedly  is  to  the  tastes  and  the  refinement  of  tlie 
people,  is  not  wholly  satisfying,  and  that  many  of  us,  while 
recognising  with  pleasure  the  large  number  of  valuable 
prizes  which  it  has  recently  become  the  practice — and  espe- 
cially  on  the  present  occasion — to  offer  for  subjects  bearing 
upon  the  moral  and  physical  condition  of  the  people  and 
their  amelioration,  for  essays  on  health,  food,  the  condition 
of  dwellings,  the  earnings  of  the  labourer  and  artizan,  thrift, 
morals,  and  last,  but  not  least,  education  (all  of  which  were 
treated,  as  I  am  informed,  by  the  former  Social  Science 
Section),  are  yet  of  opinion  that  more  may  be  fairly  done  in 
this  direction  by  tlie  Eisteddfod  than  lias  been  done  yet.  I 
do  not,  nor,  as  far  as  I  know,  does  any  one  wish  to,  dethrone 
from  their  supremacy  the  sister  arts  of  poetry  and  music, 
which  now  bear  rule  at  the  Eisteddfod  meetings,  but  I  think 
in  the  future  it  may  well  be  a  niatter  for  consideration 
whether  one  day  of  the  four,  or,  possibly,  two  afternoon 
sittings,  might  not  be  devoted  to  discussions  proceeding  on 
the  lines  of  the  economical  or  social  subjects  for  which 
prizes  are  given.  I  hope  no  one  will  suspect  me  of  not 
lihing  music.  On  the  contrary,  I  think,  and  have  often 
said,  that  the  musical  taste,  which  is  so  characteristic  of  the 
Welsh  nation,  should  be  cultivated  to  the  fullest  possible 
extent.  JMusic  speaks  with  a  common  and  universal  lan- 
guage,  vague  indeed,  but  infinitely  tender  and  solemn, 
miglity  beyond  the  power  of  words,  full  of  yearning,  fuU  of 
the  mystery  of  this  wonderful  life  of  ours,  full  of  sublime 
echoes,  which  are  to  many  instead  of  a  complete  theology,  of 
the  mighty  voice  without  us,  wliose  souud  is  iu  the  sea,  and 


92  THE   PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   OF   WALES. 

in  the  sky,  and  in  the  hiUs,  and  in  the  inmost  recesses  of  the 
human  heart.  As  to  poetry,  no  one,  I  am  sure,  considering 
whose  descendant  I  am,  will  suspect  me  of  disloyalty  to  that 
delightful  art.  There  are  some  things  of  which  it  is  impos- 
siLle  to  speak  satisfactorily,  and  of  which  it  is  best,  therefore, 
to  be  silent.  I  believe  myself  that  to  every  one,  in  his  or 
her  degree,  glimpses  of  an  ineffable  and  supreme  beauty  and 
goodness  are  vouclisafed  from  time  to  time,  to  some  very 
rarely,  to  others  more  frequently,  and  that  it  is  only  the  gift 
of  expression,  granted  or  denied,  which  distinguishes  the 
poet  from  his  fellow-men.  But  then  it  unfortunately  hap- 
pens  that  there  are  few  who  can  speak  this  divine  language 
with  eíîect,  and  even  those  wlio  can  are  fiUed  with  a  con- 
sciousness  that  what  they  are  privileged  to  say  might  well 
have  been  said  better  and  more  fuUy. 

The  conclusion  to  which  I  would  come  is  that,  to  some  of 
us,  who  would  like  to  be  frequent  attendants  at  Eisteddfodic 
meetings,  it  would  be  no  diminution  of  the  interest  and 
pleasure  which  they  excite  if  we  felt  that  we  were  not  merely 
amusing  ourselves — undoubtedly,  in  a  very  creditable  way, 
but,  still,  amusing  ourselves — but  were  doing  something 
which  might  leave  our  fellow-countrymen  happier  and  better. 
And  this  is  the  real  meaning  of  the  revival  of  our  Social 
Science  Section  under  a  new  name — not  a  better  name,  by 
any  means,  as  it  seems  to  me,  but  still,  one  which  has  not 
to  struggle  against  memories  of  former  failure. 

As  to  the  good  which  has  been  done  by  the  Social  Science 
Association  of  England  during  tlie  twenty  or  more  years  of 
its  existence,  I  believe  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  exagge- 
rate  it.  Almost  all  the  reforms  in  the  law  during  that  time 
have  taken  their  rise  in,  and  are  the  direct  or  indirect  result 
of  the  deliberations  of  the  Association.  The  great  practical 
difficulties  of  punishment  and  of  prevention  of  crime,  tlie 
treatmcnt  of  the  pitiful  race  of  young  criminals,  the  c[ues- 


TIIE    PRESENT   AND    FÜTÜRE    OF   WALES.  93 

tion3  of  prison  discipline,  the  mechanics  of  legislation,  the 
rehations  between  laudlord  and  tenant,  the  cj[uestions  as  to 
the  employnient  and  social  functions  of  women,  the  great 
problems  of  education,  the  laws  of  health  and  sanitation; 
all  these,  and  niany  others,  are  mattcrs  which  have  heen 
ventilated  year  after  year  at  the  annual  meetings  of  the 
Association,  l)y  men  and  women  who,  like  the  late  Miss 
Carpenter,  have  devoted  their  lives  to  the  service  of  their 
fellow  creatures,  and  through  them  to  the  service  of  God. 
Surely,  we  too  in  Wales,  with  our  strange  contrasts  of  busy 
and  crowded  industries,  and  sparse  agricultural  populations  ; 
of  dense  and  smoky  manufacturing  towns  and  lonely  moun- 
tain  sides  ;  must  have  questions  relating  to  the  happiness  of 
the  people,  some  common  to  all  the  dwellers  in  these  islands, 
otliers  peculiar  to  ourselves  as  Welshmen,  which  it  would 
be  well  to  discuss  from  time  to  time.  Does  anyone  seriously 
think  that  the  question  of  Welsh  Sunday  closing,  for  in- 
stance,  on  whicli  such  a  striking  unanimity  of  opinion  has 
been  evinced,  or  the  Burial  Bill,  or  any  other  measure  which 
has  come  very  near  to  the  hearts  of  Welshmen,  would  not 
have  attracted  attention  long  ago,  if,  year  by  year,  as  the 
National  Eisteddfod  came  round,  they  had  been  discussed  and 
debated  on  a  common  and  unsectarian  platform,  by  local  men 
acquainted  with  the  special  needs  of  their  own  particular 
neighbourhoods.  And  no  one  who  knows  how  peculiar,  aud 
I  may  add,  how  defective  is  the  educational  coudition  of 
Wales,  how  poor  and  how  iU-distributed  are  her  eudow- 
ments,  and  liow  noble  have  been  the  efforts  of  the  people 
to  provide  themselves  with  the  means  of  obtaining,  wholly 
without  the  State  assistance,  which  is  freely  bestowed  upon 
Scotlaud  aud  Ireland,  the  blessings  of  the  higher  educatiou, 
can  doubt  that  this  matter  of  education  alone  would  afford 
good  aud  congenial  work  for  good  meu  and  women,  Avho 
could  never;  in  our  present  dividcd  religious  couditioUj  meet 


94  THE   PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   OF  WALES. 

together  elsewhere.  I  say  notliing  of  the  pressing  need  for 
sanitary  discussions  connected  with  the  growth  of  our  great 
mannfacturing  towns,  and  the  many  questions  touched  by 
the  Employers'  Liability  BiU,  as  suggested  by  the  dreadful 
calamities  of  the  Ehondda  Yalley,  of  Abercarne,  and  of 
Eisca,  though  they  are  probably  at  once  fuU  of  social  in- 
terest,  and  of  features  peculiar  to  our  own  couutry.  I  ani 
afraid  that  a  Eepression  of  Crime  Section,  or  a  Prisons'  Sec- 
tion,  if  one  were  started  among  us,  would  hardly  be  a 
success,  for  the  simple  reason  that  Welsh  criminals  are 
almost  like  the  snahes  in  Iceland — there  are  noiie  of  them ; 
and  that  we  are  busily  engaged  in  disestablishiug  and  dis- 
endowing  our  Welsh  prisons.  But  I  am  sure  that  we 
might  deal  with  advantage  with  those  faults  of  morals, 
which  are  undoubtedly  ours ;  which  all  the  zeal  of  all  our 
ministers  has  failed  to  touch  in  any  appreciable  degree ;  and 
whicli,  among  a  people  the  most  devout,  and  the  most  God- 
fearing  in  these  islands,  confront  us  Mdth  the  spectacle, 
not  unhappily  a  paradox,  of  an  aniount  of  illegitimacy 
hardly  exceeded  in  any  part  of  Great  Britain. 

Nor,  of  course,  would  it  be  necessary,  or  in  any  way  de- 
sirable,  that  we  should  confine  ourselves  exclusively  to 
matters  specially  bearing  upon  the  condition  of  Wales.  I 
certainly  think  that  such  questions  have  distinctly  the  first 
claim  upon  our  attention.  But,  after  all,  our  country  is  a 
small  one ;  we  are  not  only  Welshmen,  but  citizens,  in- 
terested  in  every  great  question  which  affects  any  part  of,  or 
any  class  of  people  in,  the  great  England,  and  tlie  still 
greater  Empire,  of  wliich  we  form  part.  I  do  not,  for  my 
own  part,  hnowing,  as  I  do,  how  great  are  the  differences 
which  separate  us  from  our  neighbours,  think  that  the  stream 
of  Welsh  reforms  is,  after  centuries  of  neglect  and  stag- 
nation,  likely  to  run  dry  very  soon.  But  I  am  sure  we 
should   welcome    any   distinguished    stranger    who   would 


TIIE  TRESENT  AND   FUTURE   OF   WALES.  95 

lionour  us  hy  reading  a  paper  on  any  matter  of  wliich  he 
niiglit  have  special  lcnowleJge,  \v*hether  economical,  social, 
scientific,  or  I  suppose  I  must  add  archaìological,  as  this  is 
the  Cymmrodorion  section. 

I  do  trust,  however,  tliat  in  future  years,  we  shall  nf)t 
devote  an  undue  measure  of  our  time  to  loolcing  back 
towards  the  irrevocable  Past.  With  all,  except  the  very 
young,  and  ofteu  with  them,  the  temptation  to  look  back- 
wards,  iustead  of  forwards,  is  overwhelming,  and  weinWales 
are,  as  it  seems  to  me,  especially  liable  to  it.  Every  year  that 
passes  takes  with  it  something  of  hope  from  oiir  lives ;  raises 
a  new  tomb-stone  over  buried  longings  and  aspirations  that 
breathe  no  longer  the  air  of  earth  ;  adds  something  to  the 
sum  of  losses  which  make  the  familiar  streets,  or  the  well- 
remembered  fields,  show  like  a  place  of  graves.  I  cannot 
help  admiring  the  tendency  which  makes  Welshmen  look 
back  with  affectionate  exaggeration  to  heroes  and  to  bards 
who  have  been  dead  for  centuries.  I  myself  owe  too  much 
to  the  affection  with  which  the  name  which  I  bear  is  stiU 
regarded,  not  to  feel  it  difficult  to  say  what  I  believe  I  am 
bound  to  say,  in  duty.  But  to  me,  no  time  is  so  full  of 
fascination  as  tlie  present,  unless  it  be  indeed  the  hidden 
future.  But  it  is  in  the  present,  and  with  a  view  to  prepare 
the  future,  which  we  believe  shall,  in  the  good  pleasure  of 
the  Creator,  be  greater  than  the  present,  that  we  who  are 
here  to-day  must  live  and  work,  and  we  have  not  indeed  a 
moment  to  lose.  "  Time  is  short,  and  opportunity  fleeting," 
as  was  said  of  old,  and  dreams  of  the  past  cercainly,  and  of 
the  future  probably,  are  nothing  else  but  a  waste  of  in- 
valuable  time.  I  believe  that  the  extraordinary  and  most 
calamitous  self-effacemeut,  by  which,  up  to  a  very  recent 
period,  Welslnnen  were  content  to  stand  aloof  from  practical 
politics,  sending  to  Parliament,  íbr  centuries,  for  reasons  of 
feudal    attaclmieut,   or    through    entire    carelessuess,   mcn 


96  THE   PRESENT   AND   FÜTÜRE   OF   "WALE3. 

wliolly  uufit  for  their  duties,  was  largely  due  to  this  habit  of 
mind,  which  has  long  diverted  the  national  energies  into 
channels  in  which  they  have  practically  run  to  waste.  I 
cheerfully  recognise  the  great  improvement  which  of  late 
has  taken  place  in  this  respect,  wholly  irrespective  of 
political  cousiderations.  I  have  long  ago  expressed  my 
belief,  that  the  first  thing  which  Wales  had  to  do  was  to 
find  her  tongue,  as  she  has  since  done,  indeed,  to  some  ex- 
tent,  aud  might  yet  do  more  thoroughly  with  advantage. 
The  nation  is  evidently  awaking  to  a  sense  of  its 
responsibilities,  which  gives  promise  of  even  better  things 
in  future.  Tor  my  own  part,  while  the  voice  of  Wales  is 
still  insufficieutly  heard,  I  resent,  on  behalf  of  my  country, 
the  local  intrigues  by  which  it  still  too  often  happens  tliat 
an  unfit  Welshman,  or  an  Englishman  with  no  interest  in  us, 
is  allowed  to  supplant  a  Welshman  who  could  speak  for 
Wales.  And  depend  upon  it,  if  good  men  of  every  reli- 
gious  deuomination  would  consent  to  meet  upon  the  free 
and  uusectarian  platform,  which  the  Eisteddfod  alone  fur- 
nishes,  there  wouhl  be  very  little  danger  of  its  missing  its 
true  end,  or  of  its  ever  allowiug  the  people  of  Wales  to 
relapse  iuto  the  stagnation  and  indiffereuce  of  old. 

Aud  I  think,  iudeed,  that  some  such  meeting-place,  where 
party  politics  might  be  laid  aside,  where  those  religious  and 
dogmatic  differences  which  enter  so  largely  (uot,  as  I  thiuk, 
without  advantage)  into  our  natioual  life,  might  for  a  time  be 
left  behind,  if  not  forgotteu,  would  be  in  itself,  quite  aparfc 
froui  other  good  results,  a  distinct  aud  permanent  gaiu. 
Thiuk  how  seldom  it  can  happen  that  patriotic  Welshmen 
belougiug  to  tlie  Church  of  Eugiaud,  or  to  the  Methodist, 
Baptist,  or  Congregational  denominatious  (and  we  should 
not  have  far  to  go  from  this  place  to  find  such  persous), 
can  meet  together  with  a  view  to  the  advancement  of  the 
good  of  their  comnion  country.      Think  how  few  are  the 


TIIl':    PRESENT   AND    FUTURE   OF    WALES.  \}7 

opportunities  whicli  North  Wclshineii  aud  South  Wclslinien 
híive  of  comparing  notcs  and  experiences.  They  go  into 
England  ])y  diííerent  routes,  they  gravitate  towards  diíîerent 
provincial  centres — the  North  to  Liverpool,  the  South  to 
Bristol — and  it  takes  about  twice  as  long  to  go  from  the 
good  town  of  Carmartheu  to  the  good  town  of  Carnarvou 
as  it  does  to  go  from  either  to  London.  We  want  to  ohli- 
terate,  as  far  as  may  be,  all  tliese  purely  local  and  mis- 
chievous  divisions,  and  it  would  be  a  very  worthy  office  for 
the  Eisteddfod  if  it  enabled  those  of  us  who  are  not  musicians, 
who  are  not  bards,  nay,  wlio  are  hardly  Welsh-speaking  men, 
but  liave  not  the  less  Welsh  hearts,  to  meet  togetlier  under 
tlie  shadow  of  so  venerable  and  mysterious  an  institution, 
and  take  counsel  together  for  tlie  good  of  Wales. 

There  are  certain  matters  on  which  I  could  have  wished 
to  say   sometliing,  especially  those  witli  which  I  am  most 
conversant — c[uestions  of  law^  of  politics,  and  of  education. 
But  tliose  questions  of  law,  which  are  burning  questions,  run 
insensibly  into  politics,  and  politics,  so  far  as  they  are  interest- 
ing,  are  apt  to  assume  a  character  of  party  wliich  would  be 
quite  foreign  to  the  traditions  of  an  institution  whose  motto 
is  "  Peace".      In   politics  there   neither  can  nor  should  be 
peace,  but    an   earnest  thougli  a  generous   strife.     On  the 
subject    of   education,  I    should   have   had    a  good  deal   to 
say,  and  was  prepared  to  say  it,  but  for  an  honour  whicli 
has  come  to  me  within  the  last  few  days — that  of  being 
nominated    to   serve   on   the    Commission   which    will   iai- 
mediately  be  issued  to  inquire  into  the  condition  of  Higher 
and    Intermediate   Education   in   Wales.      I  anticipate  the 
greatest  good  results  from  that  Commission,  and  f  ani  very 
proud    to    belong  to  it  ;    but  I  tliink  it  clear  tliat    for  the 
present  my  mouth  must  be  closed  on  all  Welsh  educational 
questions,  because  it  would  be  improper  to  express  opinions 
on  view\s  wliich  the  evidence  which  will  come  before  the 

VOL.  IV.  II 


98  THE   PEESENT   AND   FÜTURE   OF   WALES. 

Commission  may  teiid  to  modify  or  reverse.  Otlierwise,  I 
sliould  have  liked  to  say  sometliing  of  tlie  University  Col- 
lege  of  Wales  at  Aberystwyth,  of  which  1  believethe  country 
is  justly  proud,  and  of  its  future  development.  I  should 
have  liked  to  say  something  of  the  scheme  of  your  excellent 
townsman  and  my  revered  friend,  Mr.  Hugh  Owen,  who  lias 
for  nearly  forty  years  been  connected  with  Welsh  education, 
for  the  establishment  of  County  Scholarships,  whicli  shall  so 
unite  the  primary  with  the  higher  grade  schools  as  to  pro- 
vide  for  the  support  of  deserving  boys  and  girls,  and  elicit, 
by  judicious  aid,  the  immense  supply  of  talent  which  in 
Wales,  as  I  fìrmly  believe,  more  than  elsewhere,  has  some- 
how  been  repressed  and  lost  through  poverty  and  unfa- 
vourable  surroundings.  But  the  suliject  wiU  not  remain 
without  discussion,  and  papers  on  various  aspects  of  tlie 
educational  question  among  us  wiU  be  read  dnring  our 
sittings.  And  I  believe  we  have  the  promise  of  an  able 
paper  on  the  important  question  of  Eisteddfod  reform.  I 
trust  that  the  Cymmrodorion  Council  wiU  be  able  iu  future 
to  exercise  a  supervision  over  as  well  the  subjects  of  the 
papers  as  their  treatment,  and  that  the  length  of  all  contri- 
butions  may  be  limited  to  a  reasonable  time — a  good  deal 
shorter,  for  instance,  than  the  present  address — and  tliat  due 
provision  may  be  made  for  those  who  prefer  to  express  them- 
selves  in  English  or  Welsh,  as  the  case  may  be.  And  when 
I  have  said  this,  I  have  said  almost  all. 

But  before  I  conclude,  I  will  ask  you  to  think  for  a 
moment  on  the  lot  of  the  great  majority  of  our  countrymen, 
whose  fate  it  is  to  eat  the  bread  of  carefulness  through  the 
wliole  of  their  laborious  lives.  Think  of  them  on  a  hundred 
hiU-sidcs,  where  the  mountain  sheep,  straying  among  the 
heather,  are  the  only  living  things  visible  :  or  in  close  and 
sunless  valleys,  under  the  brooding  shadow  of  great  moun- 
tains ;  or  on  wind-swept  farms,  where  nothing  but  sea-bitten 


TIIF,    PRESENT    AND    FUTURE   OF    WALES.  ítO 

grass  will  grow,  ou  tlic  coasts  oí'  Anglesey  or  of  Peml)rokc  ; 
lÌYÌng  from  tlie  cradle  to  the  grave  lonely  lives  of  liealtliy 
but  wearing  toil,  with  no  opportunity  of  meeting  with  their 
fellows  except  occasionally  at  the  little  market-town  or  vil- 
lage,  or  at  the  little  chapel,  which  is  set  often  enough  far  away 
from  town  or  village,  in  the  recesses  of  the  untroddcu  hiUs. 
Tliink  of  them  iu  the  dense  atmosphere  of  the  great  indus- 
trial  centres,  at  ]\Ierthyr  Tydfìl  or  at  Aberdare,  at  Ruabon  or 
Landore;  brcathing  coal  dust,  or  iron  dust^  or  copper  smoke, 
day  aud  night,  in  cottages  reared  upon  the  cinder-tips  or 
slag-heaps,  of  which  they  seem  an  excrescence;  speudiug  the 
long  days  or  niglits  in  the  airless  depths  of  the  coal  mine, 
with  iuevitable  death  within  a  stroke  of  the  pickaxe;  or 
perched  higli  up  on  the  perpendicular  face  of  the  quarry, 
with  enormous  masses  of  slate  impendiug,  and  the  thuuder 
of  the  blasting-charge  resounding  and  reverberating  around. 
I  know  of  uothing  iu  all  the  world  around  us  so  pathetic 
as   the   lives   of    the   poor.      From   much   that  makes  life 
seem  precious  to  us  tliey  are   cut  off  altogether.     All  the 
pleasures  of  travel  and  change  of  scene,  the  delight  of  foreign 
manners,  the  wonder  of  strauge  islands,  or  capes,  risiug  vine- 
clad  out  of  the  azure  sea,  the  marvel  of  old  minsters  filled 
with  the  devout  thoughts  of  painters  or  sculptors  who  have 
been  dead  for   centuries — thoughts   which,  we   may   hope, 
have  aided  many  a  heavy-laden  soul  on  the  road  to  heaven — 
the  wouder  of  great  Alps,  rnany  times  higher  than  our  own 
Eryri,  rising  clothed  iu  their  everlasting  mantles  of  suow ; 
the  quickening  of  the  moral  aud  intellectual  powers,  which 
comes  almost  in  spite  of  themselves  to  the  cultivated  dwellers 
in  a  great  metropolis,  in  which  the  business  of  an  illimitable 
Empire  is  transacted,  and  is  matter  of  common  talk — from 
all  these  sources  of  interest  and  pleasure  our  poorer  country- 
men  and  countrywomen  are  debarred.     Let  us  be  thaul-cfnl 
that  they  havc  iu  tlicir  own  tongue  the  blessing  of  a  pure 

H  2 


100  THE   TRESENT   AND    FUTURE    OF   WALES. 

and  healthy  periodical  literature,  aud  tliat  they  haye  the 
taste,  which  is  deuied  to  the  strouger  Saxon,  to  appreciate 
the  highest  achievements  of  music  aud  of  poetry.  While 
Haudel  aud  Mozart  are  sung  by  them  habitually,  while 
Milton  and  Goronwy  are  read,  there  cau  be  little  fear  for 
the  intellectual  future  of  Wales.  The  more  reason,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  tliat  those  of  us  who  cau  do  so,  iu  however 
small  a  degree,  should  contribute  their  share  to  hasteu  the 
good  time  comiug;  and  by  making  the  Eisteddfod  a  really 
educatioual  and  social  iníiuence,  try  to  lighteu  somewhat  of 
the  burden  of  those  lowly  and  over-laden  lives. 


101 


MERCHED   Y   TY   TALWYN. 


The  following  curious  and  interesting  account  is  taken  froni 

one  of  the  unpublislied  lolo  3Iorganvjg  ÄISS.,  now  in  tlie 

possession  of  the  Riglìt  Hon.  Lady  Llanover,  by  whose  kind 

permission  it  is  copied.     It  is  written  in  the  spoken  dialect 

of    Glamorgan,    which    was    often   used   by    lolo,   and   no 

attempt  has  been  made  to  alter  it.     Perhaps  some  of  the 

readers  of  the  Cyìnmrodor  may  be  able  to  add  to  the  informa- 

tion  here  given  about  these  poetesses,  and  to  supply  other 

verses  ascribed  to  them. 

W.  Watkixs. 
Octoher  1880. 


"  I  heard  an  old  man  at  Langynwyd  sing  a  curious  kind  of 

song.     It  consisted  of  the  names  of  aU  the  rivers  iu  Glamor- 

gan  and  their  fountain-heads,  said  to  have  been  written  by 

one  of  the  Ty  Talwyn  poetesses,  one  stanza  of  which  is  as 

follows  : 

"  Blaen  Gwrych,  Blaen  Gwrach,  Blaen  Gwrangou, 
Blacn  Ffrydwyllt,  Blaen  Cynharyon, 

Blaen  Afan  sy,  Blaen  Llyíni  syw, 
Blaen  Garw  ywT  Blaen  creulon." 

Dywedir  am  y  Brydyddes  iddeu  Chariad  wneuthur  rhyw- 
beth  ausyber  yn  ei  herbyn  a'i  digio,  ac  nis  ymgymmodai  ag 
ef  er  uu  cyflwr  eithr  hynn,  sef  iddo  ymweled  a  holl  afonydd 
Morganwg  a'u  Blaenau  a'u  dodi  ar  gân  a'i  dangos  iddi  o'i 
waith  ei  hunan.  Fe  gymmerth  hyun  arno,  ag  a  dreulwys 
lawer  mis  yn  yradeithio  ar  hyd  yr  afonydd  hyd  eu  Blaeuau, 
onid  oedd  wedi  myned  mor  wasgedig  yn  ei  gnawd  fel  uad 
oedd  braidd  dim  o  houo  oud  y  croen  a'r  esgyrn.     'Dd  oedd 


102  MERCHED   Y   TY   TALWYN. 

rhywfaint,  bydded  a  fynno,  o  dynerwcli  ynglialon  y  Gan- 
tores,  a  lii  a  dosturiwys  wrth  ei  chariad ;  a  pheth  a  wnaeth 
hi  ond  ymweled  a'r  hoU  afonydd  yn  ddiarwybod  iddei 
Chariad,  a'ii  dodi  ar  gan  ym  mesur  Triban  ]\Iorganwg.  Yr 
oedd  hi  yr  hoU  amser  hynn  mewn  gwisg  Bachgen.  Hi  a 
wyddai  yn  ddigon  da  am  dŷ  Car  iddo,  Ue  'dd  oedd  ar  droion 
arnl  yn  Uettya.  Myned  yno  a  gofyn  am  letty  noswaith, 
"  Chwi  a  gewch  hanner  gwely,  os  gwna  hynny'r  tro",  ebe 
gwraig  y  tŷ;  "nid  oes  genn;yf  ond  hynny,  am  fod  gwr  ifauc 
o  ddyn  glan  i  fod  yma  heno  'n  cysgu  yn  yr  hanner  araU". 

"  Fe  wna  hynny  o'r  goreu",  ebe  'r  Bachgen  ifanc  dierth,  a 
myned  i  mewn. 

Ymhen  ycliydig  fe  ofynodd  ai  celai  ef  fyned  i'r  gwely,  am 
ei  fod  yn  flinderus  iawn,  wedi  cerdded  ymheU  y  diwarnod 
hynny.  "  Cewcli,"  ebe  gwraig  y  tŷ ;  a  hynny  a  fu.  Ymhen 
tro  dyna'r  Carwr  truan  yn  dyfod  iddei  letty ;  goleuwyd  ef  i'r 
gwely  gan  wedyd  wrtho  fod  yno  lencyn  glan  iawn  i  gysgu 
gydag  ef,  ag  iddo  fyned  i'r  gwely  yn  ebrwydd,  achos  ei  fod 
wedi  bUno  'n  fawr,  wedi  cerdded  o  beU  hyd  yno. 

"  Duw  a'i  bendithio",  ebe'r  Carwr,  "  a  gorphwys  da  iddo. 
Gwyn  fyd  na  ddelai  awr  gorphwys  i  minnau." 

Myned  i'r  gwely  heb  gael  nemmor  iawn  o  gysgu.  Gyda'r 
goleu  dyma'r  Bachgen  ifanc  dierth  yn  cwnnu,  yn  dodi 
bendith  Duw  ar  y  tŷ  a'r  tylwyth  a'i  Uettywys,  ac  yn  myued 
i  bant.  Ond  fe  adawys  bapur  ar  y  gobennydd  a'r  gân  yn 
ysgrifenedic  arno  yn  cynnwys  enwau  hoU  afonydd  Mor-  , 
ganwg  a'u  Blaenau,  ag  uwch  ben  y  gân  y  geirau  hynn,  y 
cyfan  mewn  Uaw  dierth  iddo  :  Cymmer  rjynhortìmy  gan  ath 
gâr. 

Cymmeryd  y  papur  a'i  ddarUain,  a'i  ddarUain,  a'i  ddarUain 
a  wna'r  Carwr.  Un  ennyd  yn  neidio  yn  wyUt  gan  lawenydd, 
ennyd  araU  yn  tawhi  ei  hunan  ar  y  gwely  dan  lefain  ag 
wylo;  ond  o'r  diwedd  ymdaweUi  a  myned  blaid  y  traed 
gwyUt  at  dŷ'r  fercli  y  dioddefasai  gymmaint  er  ei  henniU. 


MElifllED    V    TV    TALWYN.  l(Jo 

Cael  myued  atti ;  ond  nis  cai  gusau  cyuimod  ues  daugos  y 
gân.  "W'rtli  glywed  liyuuy  tyuuu  'r  gâu  o'i  fyuwes  a'i  gosod 
o'i  blaeu. 

"  Yn  awr,  ar  dy  wir",  ebe  hi,  "  gwed  wrtbof  ai  ti  a  wuaeth 
y  gan  hou  ?" 

Ebe  fe  'u  atteb,  "Mi  dreiglais  hyd  bob  afou  ymMorganwg 
o'r  peu  isaf  iddei  blaen,  ond  afiechyd  a  ddaeth  arnaf  o  fod 
gymmaiut  ag  y  buof  i  maes  yn  y  tywydd,  gwlyb  a  sych, 
rhew  ag  eira,  gwres  ag  oerfel.  Ond  er  gwneuthur  hyd  eitha  'n 
gallu  corph  ag  enaid  i  ddodi  enwau'r  cyfan  ar  gâu,  ui  ellais 
etto  foddloni  'ni  hunan  mewn  un  gair  bychau.  A  thyua 
itti  'r  gwir  fal  yth  attebwyf  o  flaen  Duw.  Edrych  ar  fy 
ngwedd  a'm  lliw  lhvyd.  Wedi  rhoi  'r  cyfan  i  fyuydd  o'm 
gobaith  dau  dorr  calou,  fawr  lai  na  gwallgof,  daeth  Bachgeu 
ifanc  glau  ar  dro  i'r  ty  lle  'dd  oeddwu  yn  llettŷa,  ac  a  edewis 
ar  y  gobenuydd  lle  (bu)  ef  yn  gorwedd  noswaith  yn  yr  uu 
gwely  a  mi  y  papur  a  ddodes  o'th  flaen.  Ni  chredaf  lai  nad 
angel  o'r  nef  oedd  hwnuw.  Gwna  er  ei  fwyn  ef  y  peth  nis 
gwnai  er  fy  mwyn  i.  Tosturia  bellach  wrthof.  Gwna  hynn  er 
uiwyn  yr  angel  ag  er  mwyu  y  Duw  a'i  danfouwys." 

"Gan  itti  erchi  er  mwyn  Dnw  a'i  angel",  ebe  hi,  "mi 
ymgymmodaf  a  thi." 

Ag  felly  y  bu,  a  phriodi  a  wuaethant  maes  o  law  wedyu, 
ac  a  fuont  fyw  yu  hir  mewn  cariad  ac  happusrwydd,  yn  dad 
a  mam  Uawer  o  blaut,  ac  yn  Adda  ag  yn  Efa  i  holl  Bryd- 
yddion  y  wlad,  ond  y  rhai  sy'n  dywad  o'r  chwiorydd  ereill, 
canys  uid  oes  Brydydd  yn  y  sir  nad  yw  'n  dyfod  o  uu  o 
ferched  y  Ty  Talwyn  (meddir) ;  ag  o  hyun  y  daeth  y  ddiareb 
gyfli"ediu  ym  Morganwg  hyd  heddy. 

Beth  na  wua  merch  er  mwyn  ei  chariad  ?  Ni  ellais  hyd 
yn  hyn  gael  un  clyw  na  gwybod. 

Digou  {sic)  amlwg  pa  bryd  neu  amser  o'r  byd  ydd  oedd 
Merched  y  Ty  Talwyu  yn  byw  ;  ond  y  mae  rhywfaint  o  le  i 
gredu  taw  yughylch  deucaut  o  tìyuyddau  'n  ychydig  fwy  neu 


104  MEECHED   Y    TY   TALWYN. 

lai  ycld  oedden  nliw  'n  by\v.  Wrtli  Bennillion  y  Lhoijn 
Uodeuawg,  a  wedir  taw  gwaith  y  merched  hynny  ydyn  nhw, 
gallai  rhai  feddwl  taw  ynghylch  pnmp  nen  chwechant  o  flyn- 
yddau  'n  ol  ydd  oedden  nhw  'n  byw.  Ond  gwyddys  o'r 
goreu  i'r  ífordd  hynny  o  ganu,  sef  ar  gynlianedd  unodl  heb 
gynghanedd  o  gytsain,  barhau  ym  Morganwg  hyd  yn  ddi- 

weddar  iawn : 

y  Ferch  gyutaf. 
Docco  Iwyn  yn  fwyn  ei  drwsiad 
Glasliw  glwyslou  dirion  dyfiad 
Yn  ochr  y  maes  ai  laes  gyngheuau 
Tew  gofleidiog  teg  ei  flodau. 

Yr  ail  Ferch 
Docco  Iwyn  yn  fwyn  wedi'i  drwsio 
Gwyu  ei  fyd  a  gai  fyned  dano 
Dail  mor  loyw  llwyn  hoyw  a  hyfryil 
Gwn  fod  wrthaw  llaw  f'  auwylyd. 

Y  drydedd  Ferch 
Llwyn  myllyuog  deiliog  dulas 
Hardd  'i  gampau  gwyrdd  oi  gwmpas 
Plethiad  gwead  gwiail  irion 
Tew  gwyn  gliad  torriad  tirion. 

Dymma  sydd  genni  o'r  saith  gair  canu  a  fu  ryng  y  chwech 
hwaer  a'u  brawd  i'r  llwyn  'spyddaden.  G\vyddwn  un  arall 
lawer  blwyddyn  yn  ol,  ond  y  mae  wedi  myned  yn  angof.  Ydd 
wyf  yn  meddwl  ei  bod  ar  gof  traddodiad  y  wlad  idd  eu  cael 
etto,  a  bod  dyn  ymagocco  yn  eu  gwybod.  Ond  lled  ryfedd 
yw  un  peth  genni,  hyuny  yw,  er  cymmaint  o  sou  tradd- 
odiadol  y  sydd  ym  Morganwg  am  Ferched  y  Ty  Talwyn  ni 
wehiis  i  air  hyd  yn  hynu  ani  danyn  nhwy  mewn  ysgrifeu 
erioed.  A  pheth  iawn  dda  hynod  yw  hynn,  a  chymmaint 
o  ysgrifenadau  Prydyddion  ag  Areithwyr  o  bob  rhyw  y  sy 
gan  y  ni  ym  Morganwg  yn  anad  un  sir  yn  neheubarth 
Cymru,  ag  ni  wn  ni  lai  n'allwn  i  wedyd  yn  anad  un  sir  yn 
hoU  Gymru,  Gwynedd  a  Delieubarth,  ag  er  amled  y  pethau 
hynn,  ni  clnrddais  erioed  a  ga  r  bach  yn  ysgrifenedig  am 
Ferched  y  Ty  Talwyn,  oddi  wrth  rhyw  beth  bach  gan  Sion 


MF.IU'llEI)    Y    TY    TALWYN.  1U5 

Bradtbrd  o'i  gofíliad  ei  liuuan.  Bu'r  brawd  farw  yn  wr  iefanc 
licb  fod  erioed  yn  briod.  Priodwys  bob  un  o'r  raerched,  ag, 
medd  y  wlatl,  y  mae  mwy  neu  lai  o  awen  Prydydduidd 
ymliob  un  o'u  lieppil  yn  parhau  hyd  heddyw.  Mynych  y 
cly  wais  wedyd  yn  ddiarheb  fal  hyn,  "  Nid  rhyfedd  ei  fod  e'ii 
brydydd ;  y  mae'n  dyfod  o  Ferched  y  Ty  Talwyn".  Y  mae'r 
Ty  Talwyn  yn  Nhu  deau  Plwyf  Llangynwyd  yng  nghwmwd 
Tir  larll  ag  am  y  fíin  a  Pldwyf  Margam,  yn  dŷ  Ffermwr  lled 
dda,  sef  da  ymhlith  tai  Morganwg,  y  tai  goreu  yng  Nghymru 
tu  hwnt  i  bob  cymmhariaeth." 


lOG 


A   DESCEIPTION   OF   THE   DAY   OF 
JUDGMENT. 


The  following  article  is  taken  from  tlie  Cotton  MS.  Titus 
D.  xxii,  in  the  British  Museum,  whicli  contains  eight  other 
articles  in  Welsh  and  Latin,  and  among  them  the  Welsh 
Iives  of  Saints  David,  Catharine,  and  Margaret,  published 
in  Eees'  Cam'bro-Britisli  Saints,  pp.  102-116,  and  211-231. 
In  the  Catalogue  of  Cotton  MSS.,  p.  566,  the  volume  is 
incorrectly  represented  to  include  a  chronicle  of  the  Clmrch 
of  Llandaff,  which,  however,  it  does  not  contain.  A  cor- 
rected  table  of  contents  is  now  prefìxed  to  the  volume  from 
the  pen,  and  bearing  tlie  signature,  of  "  T.  Price,  Carnhua- 
nawc,  November  4,  1839." 

The  extract  here  printed  is  the  first  article  in  the  MS., 
extending  from  folio  1  to  folio  19,  and  containing  thirty-six 
pages  and  seven  lines.  Each  page  contains  fifteen  lines. 
It  is  very  well  written,  but  the  writing  has  become  iUegible 
in  one  or  two  places. 

The  MS.  dates  from  the  early  part  of  the  fifteenth  century. 


[1]  LLynma  gyfróythyt  achouyon  a  geir  nyr  yscriptur 
lan  0  iôrtli  y  trabluthe  gouudyon  a  dolureu  adiskynnant 
kynn611  kyn  teruin  byd  achos  anwir  ac  angret  yrei  aossodes 
yr  vchelargl6yd  o  neef  kyn  kymryt  kana6d  or  blayn  hyt 
ytraythir  herwyth  dysk  y  yspryd  ef  o  giudode  y  profóydi  a 
gwedy  kymryd  kna6d  y  dangosses  crist  argl6yth  yr  eilweith 
yr  vnri6  pynkeu  ny  gyfreitheu  ef  yrei  aydys  yn  vynych  ny 
tray thu  my6n  gwasnaythe  yr  egl6ys.^  T[  y trabluthe  hyn  adoant 

1  In  tbe  MS.  these  paragraph  marks  are  ia  red  ink. 


A   DESClîIPTION    OF   TIIE   DAY   OF   JUDÜMENT.  107 

but  tlwì  article  itself  is  probably  older.  Its  style  is  not  very 
attractive,  being  marked  by  some  awkward  sentences  and 
iincouth  forms.  The  constant  use  of  adjectives  in  the  phiral, 
such  as  "  aruthredigyon",  "  llithredigyon",  etc,  is  cpiite  a 
raarked  feature  in  the  composition.  The  writer  was  a  South- 
Walian,  and  apparently  a  native  of  the  southern  part  of 
Cardif'-anshire,  or  North  Pembrokeshire.  Such  forms  as  the 
füllowing  may  be  observed,  among  many  others,  as  charac- 
teristic  of  the  dialect  of  this  district :  lleisse :  gnutliyr  (3^) 
coi'anu  (ib),  agilant  (ib),  lieóhjth  (ib),  geire  (6),  neueilieid 
gwyllton  (6^),  wetliel  (7),  U'ecìied  (9),  and  wimnnuth  (15), 
which  are  stiU  ujheddel,  wheehed,  and  lühininiiüth  :  ymhoylant 
(8),  and  ymhoylyd  (15),  llysewyn,  eisîoys  (10),  dehiiach  (11), 
ouctn  (ll^),  iste  (ib),  cluste  (ib),  milioyth  (12),  tayred  vo  yr 
heul  (ib),  drein  (13),  gwaòrc,  etc  The  dropping  of  the  final 
dental  in  trws  (6)  "  trwst",  trydy  and  pechcery,  point  in  the 
same  direction.  It  is  possible  that  the  writer  may  have 
been  one  of  the  patriotic  monks  of  the  great  Abbey  of  Ystrad 
Fflur. 

The  orthography  of  the  MS.  has  been  scrupulously  fol- 
lowed,  even  in  its  blunders.  It  wiU  be  observed  that  the 
scribe  occasionally  uses  the  peculiar  "  6"  for  "  u",  as,  for  ex- 
ample,  in  gcdló,  hcól,  Ueóat,  i.c,  "  gallu",  "  heul'^  "  lleuat". 


Heee  follow  the  instruction  and  records  which  are  found  in 
the  Holy  Scripture  concerning  the  tronbles,  afflictions,  and 
suíîerings  which  wìW  happen  for  a  season  before  the  end  of 
the  world  on  account  of  iniquity  and  unbelief,  and  which  the 
hio'h  Lord  of  Heaven  set  forth  in  times  past  before  He  took 
flesh,  as  far  as  they  are  related  through  the  teaching  of  His 
spirit  by  the  bands  of  the  prophets  ;  and,  after  He  took  flesh, 
Christ,  thc  Lord,  revealed  the  same  things  a  second  time  in 
His  Laws,  which  are  frequently  rehearsed  in  tlie  serviccs  of  the 


108  A   DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    DAY    OF   JÜDGMENT. 

gyntaf  o  angiieredigyróyth  kynvigen  athra  tröy  geissaö  pob 
vn  [P]  ragori  ar  yllall  myón  tragrymder  galló  bydaól.  medeant 
a  maóreth.  pandiskynnant  o  achos  sythter  kalonneu  a  aghy- 
tundeb  y  trablutheu  maór  yrei  aedewis  crist  arglóyth  genyni 
ynyscriuenedic  dan  y  henwi  ny  gyssegredic  euegil  ef.  nyd 
amgen  trabluthe  nog  y  pleid  kyuod  ynerbyn  pleid.  tarnas  yn 
erbyn  tarnas.  braód  yn  erbyn  braód.  taad  yn  erbyn  ymab. 
ymab  yn  erbyn  ytaad  ac  aruthredigyon  aróython  adiskynnant 
0  neef.  ac  ereill  aymdangossant  nyr  heól.  ny  syyr.  ny  lleóat. 
tróy  gymmysc  marówalaytheu.  crynnant  dayar.  anewy-[2] 
neu.  ac  aruthredigyon  aróython  myón  tonneu  a  lleisseu  ymo- 
royth.  ar  llifdyuyreth.  agóybythed  paóbmedcrist  pan  diskyn- 
nant  bod  tarnas  nef  ynagos  nyd  amgen  no  dyd  braö  a  teruyn 
byd.  *a  Bellachgwedypandaruythantyraróython  hyn  hóyhió 
ny  teruyneu  y  ymdagossant  ereill  o  newyth.  yrei  auythant 
ynv6y  o  dolureu  a  galareu.  hyd  na  bo  haód  ydyn  yn  yyó 
ydóyn  nay  diothef.  IT  y  gouudyon  hyn  herwyth  daroganneu  a 
diskynnant  nyr  amser  ydel  melltigedic  angcrist  yr  h6n  y  syd 
reid  agotheuus  gan  dew  y  dyuod  [2"']  y  6ybod  gwastad- 
r6yth  a  fyrfder  a  gaffer  my6n  dyn  ny  fyth  6rth  y  broui. 
ir  Angcrist  beilach  herwyd  deall  rei  or  doython  ac  athra6on 
yhyluethdodeu  aymdegis  nyr  amser  y  bo  crist  yn  vyl  ped- 
warcant  atheir  blyneth  o  oydran.  ar  h6n  awetfco  geni  agcrist 
o  gyd  annyan  g6r  ag6reic  n}Td6yll6yd.  acho3  herwyth  yr 
yscriptur  lan  ac  ymmadra6d  leuan  abostol  ny  lyuir  a  elwyr 
apocalipsis  nyr  amser  hynny  y  datr6ymir  y  lcuthreul  penaf 
yny  messur  ybu  datr6ymedic  yn  amser  yr  ymmera6dyr 
ffrederic  pan    wnayth  llaóer  o  ouudyon    ar  yr     [3]  escob 


A   DESCRIPTION    OF   TIIE    DAY    OF   JUDGMENT.  109 

Church.  These  troubles  will  first  come  from  uncharitable- 
uess,  envy,  and  presumption,  through  each  one  seeking  to 
surpass  the  other  in  excellence  of  worldly  power,  possession, 
and  greatness,  wlien,  through  hardness  of  heart  and  disagree- 
ment,  there  will  happen  the  great  troubles  which  Christ  the 
Lord  has  left  to  us  written,  mentioning  them  by  name,  in 
His  sacred  gospel :  such  troubles,  to  wit,  as  the  rising  of  fac- 
tion  against  faction,  kingdom  against  kingdom,  brother 
against  brother,  father  against  the  son,  the  son  against  the 
father;  and  amazing  signs  will  appear  from  heaven,  and 
others  will  appear  in  the  sun,  in  the  stars,  and  iu  the  moon, 
accompanied  with  deaths,  earthquakes,  and  famines,  and 
amazing  signs  in  waves  and  voices  of  the  seas  and  the  íloods. 
And  let  all  know,  says  Christ,  when  these  happen,  that  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand,  that  is,  the  day  of  judgment 
and  the  end  of  the  world.  Now,  when  these  signs  have  pro- 
ceeded  in  their  course  to  an  end,  others  again  wiU  appear, 
which  M'iU  be  (the  cause  of)  greater  sufferings  and  sorrows, 
so  that  it  shall  not  be  easy  for  living  man  to  bear  or  endure 
them.  These  afílictions,  according  to  predictions,  will  happen 
at  the  timewhen  the  accursed  Antichrist  shall  come,who  must, 
and  is  permitted  by  God  to,  conie  in  order  to  know  the  con- 
stancy  and  firmness  that  may  be  found  iu  man's  faith  when 
lie  is  tried.^  Now  Antichrist,  according  to  the  understand- 
ing  of  some  of  the  wise  men  and  masters  of  the  arts,  will 
appear  at  the  time  when  Clnist  shall  be  1403  years  old.  And 
whoever  says  that  Antichrist  is  born  of  the  natural  union  of 
man  and  woman  is  deceived.  For,  according  to  the  Holy 
Scripture  and  the  statement  of  John  the  Apostle  in  his  book, 
which  is  entitled  Aiwcalipsis,  at  that  time  Satan-  will  be 
unbound  in  the  manner  he  was  unbound  in  the  time  of  the 
Emperor  Frederic,  when  he  caused  many  afflictions  to  the 

1  Lit.^  in  man  in  his  faith  at  his  testing. 

2  Zi7.,  the  chief  devil. 


110  A   DESCRIPTION    OF   THE    DAY    OF   JUDGMENT. 

maór  ay  dyóolyou  bobloytli  ac  ymdegys  ef  yg  carusalera  ac 
uyi'  ardaloyth  y  tramóyaótli  crist  dan  pregethu  yuaór  enó  ef. 
ac  yn  tystolauthu  may  ef  y6  gwir  crist.  ac  ef  uyd  ac  auu  ac 
asyth. 

ir  Nyr  amser  hynny  y  datcloant  d6y  anfythedolyon  geneth- 
laeid  nyd  amgen  no  Gog  a  magog  yrrei  a  ydewis  yr  ymmer- 
a6dyr  Elisaunder  yn  gloedigyon  my6n  ynyssoyth  ar  ystlysseu 
y  moroyth  hyd  ar  yramser  ydoe  Angcrist.  yrei  liyn  adoant 
ac  aymdangossant  yr  g6rhau  ythau  credu  a  gwethu  ythau.  ac 
yr    hydarnhau.    kyn6rthau    a    ma6rhau    yuchel[3^]en6    ef 
my6n  dy6olyayth.  1í  yr  agcrist  li6n  tr6y  vod  dy6  yngothef 
aymdëgys  yngybelled  my6n  ma6reth  a  methyant.  aruthter 
a  creulonder  hyd  pan  varno  ef  na  bo  dyn  ynvy6  a  allo  rodi 
kyuerbyn  y tha6.    11  Ef  bellach  tr6y  vot  dy6  yngothef  awna  ac 
adengys  yn  rith  gwyrtheu  llawer  o  anreuethodeu  ma6r  tr6y 
d6yll  hudolyayth  yrei  ni  welsit  gynt  arei  herwyth  tyb  dyn 
my6n  gwangred  na  allei  neb  ygnuthyr  onyd  gwir  dy6  ehun. 
1Í  Bellachyrynreuethodeu  hynachymmysc  gwangred  adall-[4] 
ant  synh6yreu  ydynnyon  hyd  pan  diskynnant  anirif  o  bobyl 
ydayar  yr  credu  a  gwethu  ytha6.     1í  Ar  sa61  adrigant  my6n 
fyrfder   ycred  tr6y  rothi   hyuerbyn  ytha6  herwyth  ygallu 
adrewenir  ochlethyfeu  aedewir  my6n  ammarch  ma6r  liyd 
he61yth  a  messyth.  at  yrrei  yhenuyn  y  gwir  dy6  yr  ymbarch 
ac  vynt  angylyon  yth  yhyrchu   ay  coranu   yn  verthyryün 
kyssegredigyon  ny  neef  kyn  ori  ygwayd.     ^  Ac  ereiU  a  ouyn- 
nohahant  y  greulonder  ef  agilant  yogoueu  ycrei[4^]gyth  ar 
tarrenni  ac  yna  yochuahant  ygeni  dan  dywedud  y  geireu 
hyn  ycliwi  greigyth  ar  tarrenni  k6yth6ch  arnym  yr  yndi- 
uyrru.   IT  y  gouudyon  hyn  agerthant  ac  aymdangossant  yn 
dolurns  di'os  6yneb  ydayar  dan  gynnythu  apharau  hyd  teir 


A   DESCHIPTION    <>F   TIH-:    DAY    Ul'   JUDOMENT.  111 

great  bishop^  aiid  his  godly  people,  and  he  \vill  nppear  in 
Jerusalem,  and  in  the  districts  which  Christ  traversed, 
preaching  liis  great  nanie  nnd  testifying  that  lie  is  very 
Christ,  and  that  he  wiU  be,  and  was,  and  is. 

At  that  time  wiU  be  unbound  two  unbelievin<í  nations, 
namely  Gog  and  Magog,  whom  the  Emperor  Alexander  left 
locked  up  in  (certain)  islands,  on  the  confines  of  the  seas, 
until  the  time  wheu  Antichrist  should  come :  these  wiU  come 
and  will  appear  in  order  to  do  homage  to  him,  to  believe  in 
and  submit  to  him,  and  in  order  to  strengthen,  support,  and 
magnifyhis  high  name  by  deification.  This  Antichrist,  through 
the  permission  of  God,  wiU  appear  in  greatness,  autliority, 
awfulness,  and  cruelty,  to  such  a  degree  that  he  will  think  that 
there  willbe  no  man  living  who  shall  be  able  to  m.ake  opposi- 
tion  to  him.  He,  moreover,  by  permission  of  God,  will^  through 
the  deception  of  illusion,  perform  and  show  forth,  in  the 
guise  of  miracles,  many  great  wonders  which  had  not  been 
seen  before,  and  which  man,  in  his  feeble  faith,  m'ÌU  tliink 
no  one  could  do  but  tlie  true  God  himself.  And  now  these 
wonders,  combined  with  weak  faith,  will  blind  the  senses  of 
men,  so  that  numberless  hosts  of  the  people  of  the  earth  shall 
fall  down  to  acknowledge  and  submit  to  him. 

And  those  who  shall  continue  in  tlie  firmness  of  tlieir  faith, 
opposing  him  according  to  their  power,  wiU  be  pierced  with 
swords,  and  will  Ije  left  in  great  di.shonour  in  the  streets  and 
the  fields ;  to  whom  the  true  God,  in  order  to  do  honour  to 
them,  will  send  angels  to  take  them  and  crowu  them  as  holy 
mart}TS  in  heaven  before  their  blood  is  cold.  And  otliers, 
who  shall  fear  his  cruelty,  wiU  retire  into  the  caves  of  the 
rocks  and  tlie  cliffs ;  and  there  they  Mill  lament  that  they 
have  been  born,  saying  these  words  :  Ye  rocks  and  cliffs,  fall 
upon  us  to  destroy  us.  These  afíiictions  wiU  go  on  and  make 
themselves  grievously  felt  over  tlie  face  of  the  earth,  increas- 

'  /.''.,  the  Pope. 


112  A   DESCRIPTION    OF   TIIE    DAY   OF  JUDCtMENT. 

blynetli  a  lianner  yrei  nyd  liaótli  ygotlief.  gan  auethant  o 
trablutheu.  ryueleu.  newóneu,  a  Uathuaeu.  nyr  araser  hynny 
haóth  vyd  gwelet  dagreu  Uithredigyon  hyd  gruthyeu  y  gwyr 
ar  górageth  ar  meiboneu  disynóyryon.  haóth  vyd  gwelet  dyn 
yngarthu  dóylaó  a  Ueis  tuchan  gantaó.  ha6thvyd  [5]  clybod 
dyn  ynwynnychu  y  ageu  heb  ydyuod  y  thaó.     IT  Bellach  ar 
diweth  yteir  blyned  a  hanner  y  hyfFroant  deu  or  profóydi 
gynt  megys  Enoc  ac  heli  yrei  yr  pan  anet  ysynt  vy6edigyon 
arei  agyuodassant  yr  angylyon  tr6y  w6rtheu  dy6  nyr  hen 
oyssoyth  ac  aydugassant  yparad6ys  dayraöl  ny  lle  jnnaynt 
yngyrf  ac  yn  eneideu  ynymaros  ar  amser  ydel  ygelyn  agcrist. 
acyna  ydoant  ac  y  ymdangossant  ytha6  ef  ar  heólyth  kay- 
russalem  dan  ymlid  ac  ymgyuethli6  ac  ef  ygreulonder  yan 
[5^]  gred  ayd6yll  hudolyayth  tr6y  yrei  yt6yllassei  ef  pridwerth 
ygwir  dy6  yr  ycoUi.  %  ynteu  tr6y  gymryd  ynsor  arabu  arna6 
ef  d6yn  ruthur  ythunt  awna  my6n  ynuydr6yth  ygythreulayth 
ay  Uath  dan  ado  ykyrf   yn  ammarchus  hyd  }T.'he61yth   tri 
dieu  atheirnos  dan  drayd  ygelynyon.  ac  ar  diweth  ytridiwarnot 
tr6y  w6rtheu  ygwir  dy6  ykyuodant  o  vyir6  yvy6  yg6r  nyt 
ymedy  ay  wasnaythgar  kywir  ar  ynerthu  my6n  gouudyon. 
lí  Agwedy  pan  darfo  yr  angcrist  h6n  tr6y  dy6  yngothef  yn  hyd 
y  teir  blyneth  [6]  a  hanner  tr6y  y  arsageu  ef  achreulonder 
yglethyf    caffel   y   hynt   ar    d6ylla6    prydwerth   dy6   tr6y 


A   DESCRIPTION    OF    TIIE    DAY    OF    JLDGMENT.  113 

ing  and  continuing  during  three  years  and  a  half,  which  it 
will  not  he  easy  to  endure,  for  the  trouhles,  wars,  famines, 
and  slaughters  they  will  hring.  During  that  time  it  will  be 
easy  to  see  streaming  tears  on  the  chceks  of  men  and  women 
and  the  unconscious  infants :  it  will  he  easy  to  see  a  raan 
wringing  his  hands  witli  the  voice  of  lamentation  ;  it  will  he 
easy  to  hear  a  man  wishing  for  death,  while  it  shall  not  come 
to  him. 

Now,  at  the  end  of  the  three  years  and  a  half,  two  of  the 
prophets  of  old  will  be  aroused,  namely,  Enoch  and  Elijah, 
wlio,  ever  since  they  were  born,  are  still  living,  and  whom 
the  angels  took  up  through  the  miraculous  power  of  God  in 
the  okl  ages,  and  bore  to  an  earthly  paradise,  where  they  are, 
body  and  soul,  awaiting  the  time  when  the  enemy  Anti- 
christ  shall  come.  And  then  they  shall  come  and  appear  to 
him  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  expostulating  with  him  and 
reproaching  him  for  his  cruelty,  his  unbelief,  and  false  en- 
chantment,  whereby  he  had  deceived  the  ransomed  people  of 
the  true  God  to  their  destructiou.  But  he,  indignant  at  being 
rebuted,  will  make  an  assault  upon  them  in  the  frenzy  of 
his  devilish  nature,  and  will  kill  them,  leaving  their  bodies 
in  dishonour  in  the  streets  for  three  days  and  three  nights, 
under  the  feet  of  the  enemy.  And  at  the  end  of  the  three 
days  they  will  rise  from  death  to  life,  through  the  miraculous 
working  of  the  true  God,  who  will  not  fûrsake  his  faithful 
servants  so  as  not  to  support^  them  in  aíìflictions.  Now,  when 
this  Antichrist,  by  the  permission  of  God  during  the  tliree- 
and-a-half  years,  shall  have,  by  his  spells^  and  the  cruelty  of 
his  sword,  liad  free^  course  in  deceiving  the  redeemed  of  God 

1  Lit.,  upon  supporting  thcm  ;  wiU  not  forsake  tbem  ujion  the  point 
of,  in  the  niatter  of,  supporting  them, 

2  Arsaf/eu,  i.e..,  arsanfjau,  fr.  ar  and  sanrj,  rt.  of  sanyn,  to  troad, 
traraple.  Perhaps  it  means  here  "  opprcssion".  Davies  has  "  Arsang, 
opfì-es.no.     Alìjs  idem  (juod  Swyn". 

^  Lit.,  had  his  course. 
VOL.  IV.  I 


114  A   DESCRIPTION    OF   THE   DAY   OF   JUDGMENT. 

yharwein  y  agred.  11  yna  ardiwed  yteruin  kyfFroi  awna  yr 
arglöyd  oneef  dan  dangos  y  va6r  allii  athan  trugarau  ny 
dyóolyayth  6rth  ygwau  sucledic  annyan  my6n  dyn  6rth 
ybroui  diskyn  awna  oy  eistethua  ef  ny  neef  dan  rodi  kyuerbyn 
yr  gelyn  ar  doy  velltigedic  genethlaet  megys  gog  a  magog  ar 
yynyth  oliffer.  ne  lle  yd6g  yr  argl6yd  rurthur  yr  pryf  gormyn 
my6n  kydernid  ylit  dan  ydara6  dyrna6d  aruthur  o  yspryd 
[6^]  y  ene  liyd  pan  syrtho  yt6ylla6dyr  yn  drylle  hyd  y  llaör 
megys  tr6s  pren  ma6r  yn  garthu  órth  yg6ympo  ar  eil  dyrna6d 
ary  yr  d6y  genethlaed  hyd  pan  syrthant  6nteu  yngadeu 
meir6  liyd  ymynyth  dan  yhada6  yno  yn  ammarchus  ynu6deu 
y  g6n  ac  y  neueilieid  gwyllton.  ^  A  göybythent  pob  rei 
narannöyd  bod  gwastad  hethôch  ny  thayar  herwyth  y  daro- 
ganneu  na  gwastad  kyredigr6yd  na  chyd6ybod  glan  my6n 
calonneu  ydynnyon  ynhyd  yr  amser  y  bo  yr  angcrist  heb 
dyuod.  ac  ambellach  vyd  nyr  amser  y  bo  ef  ynma[7]ystroli 
hyd  pan  gwedy  yteruynner  ef  y  ageu.  11  A  gwedy  y  coj)leir 
ydiuyrru  ef  ny  messur  ydywespóyd  vchod  a  mynet  y  geir  a 
messur  ywethel  dros  óynebeu  ynissoyth  ybyd.  yna  yhana- 
bythant  hoU  cryaduryeid  ydayar  daruod  myón  hir  amser  o 
oysseu  yt6ylla6  ay  trossi  o  iar  forth  y  ia6n  gred  dan  ymmadaó 
ay  geudyóeu  tróy  yrei  y  buasseint  la6er  o  amseroyd  my6n 
kethiweth  kythreuleid.  ^  yna  y  ymhoylant  holl  bobloyth  y  byd 
at  vndy6  ac  y  vngred  nyd  amgen  noc  y  gred  ycristynogyon 
dan  reol  y  gwir  dy6  yr  h6n  ysyth  [7-]  dechre  a  gorfen  crea6 
dyr  ycreadurieid  taad  maab  ac  yspryd  glan.  yn  vn  ri6  dy6 
daad  yn  ri6  dy6  vaab  yn  ri6  dy6  yspryd  glan.  teir  personyeid 
ny  drindaód.    1í  Ac  gwedy  pan  darfo  yr  holl  vyd  athnabod  y 


A    DKSCI{11'TI0X   OF   THE   DAY   OF   JUDGMENT,  115 

by  leading  theni  to  imbelief;  then,  at  the  end  of  the  period, 
the  Lord  of  Heaven  wiU  rouse  Himself,  showing  forth  His 
great  might  and  taking  pity  iu  His  divine  nature  upon  the 
weak,  shaken  nature  in  man  when  tried.  He  will  come  down 
from  His  throne  in  Heaven,  setting  an  array  against  the  enemy 
and  the  two  accnrsed  nations,  namely,  Gog  and  ]\Iagog,  on 
the  mount  of  01ives,  where  the  Lord  will  attack  the  chief 
oppressor  in  the  might  of  His  wrath,  smiting  him  a  great 
stroke  with  the  breath  of  His  mouth,  so  that  the  deceiver 
shall  fall  broken  to  the  ground,  like  the  sound  of  a  great  tree 
crashing  in  its  fall.  And  the  second  stroke  He  wiU  give  to 
the  two  nations,  so  that  they,  too,  shall  fall  dead  in  liosts 
npon  the  hill,  leaving  tliem  thern  in  dishonour,  food  for 
dogs  and  wild  animals.  And  let  all  men  know  that  it 
was  not  decreed,  accordiug  to  the  predictions,  that  there 
should  be  constant  peace  on  the  earth,  or  constant  bene- 
volence,  charity,  or  clear  conscience  in  men's  hearts 
duriug  the  time'  preceding  the  coming  of  Autichrist ;  and 
it  wiU  be  rarer  during  the  time  when  he  shall  be  here 
exercising  mastery,  until  he  has  been  appointed  to  death. 
And  when  his  destruction  has  been  completed  in  the  manner 
described  above,  and  the  word  and  the  whole-  tale  has  passed 
over  tlie  isles  of  the  world,  then  will  all  the  creatures  of  the 
earth  know  that  through  a  long  period  of  ages  they  had  been 
deceived  and  turned  from  the  way  of  the  true  faith,  and 
they  will  forsake  their  false  gods,  through  which  they  had 
been  for  many  ages  in  the  bondage  of  devils.  Then  all  the 
peoples  of  the  world  will  turn  to  one  god  and  one  faith, 
namely,  to  the  faith  of  the  Christians,  under  the  rule  of  the 
true  God,  who  is  the  beginning  and  the  end,  Creator  of  the 
creatures,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  one  God  the  Father, 
one  God  the  Son,  one  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  three  persons  in 
the  Trinity.     And  when  the  whole  world  has   known  its 

1  Lit.,  in  thc  timc  when  Antichrist  shall  not  have  come. 

-  Lit.,  the  measure  of  thc  tale. 

I  2 


IIG  A    DESCRIPTIÛN    OF   THE   DAY   OF   JUDGMEXT. 

arglóyd  atliroi  gwetliu  a  górliau  ythaó  or  amser  hynny  y 
parahant  myón  diwadalróyd  dan  reol  ygwir  dyó  myön 
fyrfder  y  ia6n  fyth  hyd  diwed  byd  ac  hyd  na  bo  racllaó 
dros  óynebeu  ynessoyd  y  dayar  onyd  vn  bugeil  ac  vn 
buarth.  1í  iSryr  amser  y  byth  hir  hethóch  a  llonythóch 
tyredigróyd  achytundeb  gwirioned  [8]  a  chydóybod  glan 
myón  calonneu  y  dynnyon  ar  bob  gweitlired.  Ar  pynkeu 
hyn  abarhaant  hyd  ar  pymthec  diwarnodeu  kyn  dyd  braó 
ny  rei  herwyth  deall  agauas  sant  Jerom  myón  llyfer 
ieith  ebreó  y  dengis  ybraódór  aruthredigyon  aróythou  kyn 
diskynno  y  varnu.  1í  Nydamgen  noc  yn  ydyd  kyutaf  y 
kyffroant  ymoroyth  ar  llifdyuyreth  ac  ykyuodant  deugeint 
cupit  0  vchter  o  iar  óyuebeu  yr  holl  creigyth.  ^  yr  eil  dyd 
ygostygant  oy  huchter  dan  drio  agostóng  ved  ar  dyuynder 
hyd  pan  allo  orbreith  drem  y  lly[8-]gad  yharganuod.  1í  y  trydy 
dyyd  y  ymdangossant  yr  holl  dyuyreth  ar  ymessur  ybua- 
sseint  yr  pan  furuóyd  gyntaf  1í  y  pedwyry  dyd  y  ymdan- 
gossant  y  pyscaód  ac  holl  cryaduryeid  o  naturyayth  ymoroyth 
ar  hyd  a  lled  óynebeu  y  dyuyreth  dan  dodi  garmeu  ac  aruth- 
redigyon  wichleisseu  hyd  pan  ouynocahant  ynuaór  ysaól 
auythant  ynrodi  gostek  vthunt  ac  ystyr  ylleiseu  hynny  nyd 
athnabythir  o  neb  onyd  orgwir  dyó.  1í  y  pymmed  dyyd 
dyuereth  yrlioU  vyd  yrei  ysynt  dan  rygedua  yrheul  yndig- 
ylchwynnu  y  dayar  adiflan[9]nant  ac  aymdoant  yndir  sych 
heb  ygweled  m6y.  %  y  weched  dyd  nybyd  pren  coyd  na 
Hyssewyn  adyffo  o  annyan  ydayar  nyd  ymrotho  ohana6 
gl6b6r  megys  gwlith  alli6  gwayd  arna6.  ^  y  seithued  dyd 
ydinustrir  seil  yr  holl  vyd  megys  kestyll.  tei.  athreui  dan 
yhada6  yndrylledigyon  hyd  ymessyth. 

^  yr  6ythued  dyyd  ykyffroant  y  kerric  o  bob  ardal  yr  byd 
ac  y  ymlathant  tr6y  rodi  dyrnodeu  yssic  pobun  yth  ygilyth 
ynerbyn  annyan.    ^  y  na6ued  dyyd  ybyd  crynuau  dayar  yn 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF   T1IK    DAY    OF  JUDGMENT.  117 

Lord,  aiid  lias  turned,  subiuitted,  and  done  honiage  to  Hini, 
froni  tluit  time  they  will  continue  in  steadfastness  under  the 
rule  of  the  true  God  in  the  strength  of  the  true  faith  unto 
the  end  of  the  -world,  and  so  that  there  shall  he  henceforth 
over  the  isles  of  the  earth  but  one  shepherd  and  one  fold.  At 
the  time  there  will  be  long  peace  and  quietness,  charity  and 
unity,  truth,  and  a  clear  couscience  in  men's  hearts  in  regard 
to  every  act.  And  these  things  will  continue  until  fìfteen 
days  before  the  day  of  judgment,  during  -which,  according  to 
the  uuderstanding  which  St.  Jerome  found  iu  a  book  in  the 
Hebrew  Lmguage,  tlie  Judge  wiU  show  forth  astonishing 
signs  before  he  shall  come  down  to  judge.  Tliat  is  to  say,  on 
the  first  day  the  seas  and  the  floods  wiU  be  agitated,  and  will 
rise  forty  cubits  in  height  above  the  tops  of  all  the  rocks. 
On  the  second  day  they  will  subside,  ebbing  and  falling  to  the 
depth,  so  that  the  gaze  of  the  eye  can  scarcely  perceive  them. 
On  the  third  day  all  the  waters  wiU  appear  such  as  they  had 
been  since  they  were  first  created.  On  the  fourth  day,  the 
fislies,  and  all  tlie  creatures  of  the  nature  of  the  seas,  wiU  ap- 
pear  far  and  wide,  on  the  surface  of  the  waters,  uttering  cries 
and  astonishing  squeaking  yoices,  so  that  those  who  shall  be 
listening  to  them  shall  fear  greatly ;  and  the  import  of  those 
Yoices  will  not  be  known  to  any  but  the  true  God.  On  the 
fiftli  day  tlie  waters  of  the  whole  world,  which  are  under  the 
course  of  the  sun  encompassing  the  earth,  will  vanish  and 
turn  to  dry  land,  being  seen  no  more.  On  the  sixth  day 
there  wiU  be  neither  tree,  wood,  nor  herb  out  of  wliich 
shull  not  issue  moisture  like  dew,  having  the  colour  of  blood. 
On  the  seventh  day  wiU  be  destroyed  tlie  structures  of  the 
whole  world,  namely,  castles,  houses,  and  towns,  leaving 
them  shattered  over  the  lands.  On  the  eightli  day  the 
stones  of  every  region  of  tlie  world  will  be  stirred  up  and 
will  fight,  giving  each  other  criishing  blows,  contrary  to 
natme.     Ou  the  ninth  day  earthquakes  will  be  general,  so 


118  A   DESCRIPTION   OF   THE   DAY    OF   JUDGMENT. 

oyffredin  liyd  nachaíîer  myón  couyon  bod  ygyffelyb  yr  pan 
f uruóyd  byd.  [9^]   ^  y  decued  dyd  ysyrthant  ycreigyth  ar  tar- 
renni  y  dyuynder  ydyfírynnoyth  tróy  yrei  ykyuucheteir  yrholl 
dayar  yn  cla6r  gwastad.  ^  yr  ynued  dyd  ardec  ydoant  gweth- 
illyon  ycryaduryeid  oy  gy^goueó  dan  rodi  rydecuae  o  le  yn  Ue 
megys  ynuydyon  na  gallu  or  vn  rodi  atteb  yr  Uall.   1  Y  deu- 
decued  dyyd  y  ymdangossant  aruthredigyon  aróydon  or  neef  ar 
syyr  or  furuauen  agóythant.    ^  Y  trydy  dyd  ardec  yhyffroant 
estyrn  y  meirô   ac   yhyuodant  odyuynder   yprith   hyd   ar 
óynebeu   ypylleó.     H  Y  pedwery  dyyd  ardec  ygwethiUyon 
aydewir  o  natu[10]ryayth  dyn  ynuyó  auythant  veir6.     1  Y 
pymthecued  dyyd  yda6  taan  o  arch  dy6  ay  allu  yr  h6n  alysk 
yr  lioU  dayar  hyd  ar  dyuynder  vfíern  ac  ar  diwed  hyn  y 
diskyn  dy6  y  varnu. 

^  Teruyn  dyyd  bra6  bellach  nys  g6yr  dyn  nybyd  nac  agel 
ny  neef  ac  ny  6ybythir  ved  ar  yr  amser  y  dangosser  o 
geudod  ygwir  dy6  yhun.  eis6ys  ymay  athra6on  y  hylueth- 
doden  bes  metrent  yn  ia6n  yn  b6r6  tyb  y  teruynna  byd  ar 
diwed  yseithued  mil  o  vlynythoyd  yr  dechre  byd.  Llymma 
bellach  ystyr  ytyb  herwyth  yr  crea6dyr  ar  ydechre  furuya6 
am[10-]ri6  o  pynheu  ar  yseyth.  megys  seith  diwarnod 
ynryoli  pob  6ythnos  ved  ar  diwed  byd.  seith  pLanede 
yfuruanen  o  allu  dy6  yndigylchunu  ac  yngoluhau  byd  heb 
orf6wys.  ^  ynaturyay th  athodes  dy6  yndunh6y  yssyd  ynrodl 
yr  moroyth  gyuod  agostóng.  ac  yn  parannu  y  fr6ytheu 
ydayar  kynnuthu  ac  aythuedu.  %  Ac  gwedy  y  grist  gjTnryd 
kna6d  ygnay th  yreilweith  amri6  pynheu  ar  y seith.  megys  seith 
rinwcthe  yr  ecgl6ys  tr6y  yrei  y  ymglynima6d  dy6  adyn  yr 


A   DESCIJIPTION    OF   T1IK    DAY    OF    JUUGMFNT.  119 

that  it  shall  not  be  found  on  record  that  the  like  have  hap- 
pened  since  the  woiid  was  foiined.  On  the  tenth  duy  the 
rocks  and  the  clilís  w'úì  fall  to  the  depths  of  the  valleys, 
whereby  the  whole  earth  shall  be  raised  up  to  a  level  surface. 
Ou  the  eleventh  day  the  reraains  of  the  creatures  will  come 
forth  from  their  caves,  running  from  place  to  place,  madly, 
without  any  being  able  to  answer  another.  On  the  twelfth 
day  there  wiU  appear  astonishing  signs  from  heaven,  and  the 
stars  will  íiiU  from  the  firmament.  On  the  thirteenth  day 
the  bones  of  the  dead  wiU  be  stirred  up,  and  will  arise  from 
the  depth  of  the  earth  to  the  surface  of  the  graves.^  On  the 
fourteenth  day  the  remnant  of  human  kind  left  alive  will 
die.  On  the  fifteenth  day,  by  the  command  and  power  of 
God,  there  will  come  a  fire  which  will  burn  the  whole  earth, 
even  to  the  depth  of  hell,  and  at  the  end  of  this  God  will 
eorae  do^Ti  to  judge. 

ISTow,  the  appointed  time  of  the  day  of  judgment  no  man 
in  the  world  knows  nor  angel  in  lieaven  ;  and  it  will  not  be 
known  until  the  time  it  shall  he  shown  from  the  heart  of 
the  true  God  himself;  yet  the  masters  of  the  arts,  did 
they  riglitly  know'^  how,  conjecture  that  the  world  will 
end  at  the  end  of  the  seventh  thousand  years  from  the 
beííinniníî  of  the  world.  This  now  is  the  reason  for  this 
opinion,  that  the  Creator  at  tlie  beginning  formed  several 
things  in  sevens,  namely,  seven  days  regiüarly  forming  every 
week  unto  the  end  of  the  world ;  the  seven  planets  of  the 
firraament,  by  God's  power  encompassing  and  enlightening 
the  world  without  ceasing :  the  nature  that  God  implanted 
in  thera  gives  to  tlie  seas  the  rise  and  fall  (of  the  tide)  and 
causes  tlie  fruits  of  the  earth  to  increase  and  rijDcn.  And 
after  Christ  becanie  incarnate,  he  again  made  several  things 
by  sevens,  as  the  seven  Sacrarnents  of  the  Church,  whereby 
God  bound  himself  to  man  to  strengthen  him  and  keep  hira 
'  Lit.,  pit.s.     ^  Lit..  could  they  hit  the  uiark. 


120  A   DESCRIPTION    OF   THE   DAY   OF   JUDGMENT. 

ygydyrnhaii  ay  gadó  myón  dyóolyaytli.  yfyth.  seith  gwethieu 
ypader  yr  di[ll]fr6ytha6  pechodeu.  Seith  gwithredoyd  ydru- 
gareth  tr6y  yrei  6rth  ygnuthur  y  gobr6ir  neef  gwedy  ageu. 

^  Bellach  bybeth  bynnac  adamweino  am  dyb  yr  athraóon 
ar  dyyd  bra6  yuod  velly  ac  na  bo  velly  herwyth  na  mynna6d 
dy6  y  dyn  nac  y  agel  y6ybod  ac  herwyth  na  ellir  b6r6  tyb 
ar  hyspysróyd.  dehuach  ydyu  hydymaros  a  dy6  hyd  pan 
dangosso  ef  yn  aml6c  yrin  yssyd  cloedic  ny  ascre. 
%  Dyyd  braó  bellach  nyr  amser  y  gossodes  ygwir  dy6 
ydyuod.  dyuod  awna  yr  h6n  auyd  pan  del  ouyna6c  a 
dolurus  [11-]  herwyth  yr  ymmadra6d  aydewis  sant  austin 
gennym  ynyscriuenedic.  ^  A  llymma  ystyr  yr  ymmadraód 
bybethbynnac  awnelof  I  heb  ef.  ekysku.  egwyla6.  6kyuod. 
eiste.  egorfówys.  ekerthed.  rac  meint  vy  ouan  vrtli  pan  del 
ydyyd  dolurus  tybyo  awnaf  bod  lleisseu  hynhirieid  dyyd 
bra6  heb  orfo6wys  ym  cluste  ymhyffroi  ac  ymgwyssa6  dan 
dy wedud  y  geir  h6n  dabre  yr  varn.  ^  y  varn  bellach  pan  del 
arodes  yruchel  taad  yd  yuaab  herwyth  yr  maab  dishyn  ac 
ymgj'mysku  ac  annyan  dyn  adros  [12]  yr  annyan  hynny 
ymroi  awnayth  y  boyneu.  collet  oy  wayd  ac  ageu  yr  yprynu 
or  kethi6ed.  ac  or  achos  hynny  yrodes  yr  uchel  taad  holl 
varneu  ybyd  y th  yuab  yr  yreoli  6rth  y  ewyllus.  ^  Nyr  amser 
bellach  y  diskynno  crist  vn  maab  dy6  y  varnu  ymdangos 
gyntaf  awna  ar  cr6ybren  wen  nyr  awyr  a  milioyth  o  seint  ac 
agylyon  gyda  ac  ef.  nyr  amser  hynny  yr  tayred  vo  yr  heul 
ny  naturyayth  yn  tywynnu  ny  dywynykka  hynnu  ynuoy 
noc  nyr  vn  ansod  ygwelir  yr  heul  ynrodi  glemd6yll  tr6y  [12^] 
y  cr6ybyr  ymblayn  ka6ad  orglaö  o  iorth  ytrama6rder  goluer 


A    DESCRII'TION    0K   TIIE   ÜAY    01-'   JUDGMENT.  121 

in  the  godliness  of  faitli ;  tlie  seven  petitions  of  tlie  Lord's 
l'rayer  to  overconie  sins ;  the  seven  deeds  of  mercy, 
wherehy,  through  the  doing  of  them,  heaven  is  gained  as  a 
reward  after  death.  Now,  whatever  may  happen  as  to  the 
opinion  of  the  doctors  about  the  day  of  judgment,  whether 
it  may  be  so  or  may  not  be  so,  since  God  has  not  willed  that 
man  or  angel  should  know  it,  and  since  no  opinion  can  be 
formed  upon  certain  knowledge,  it  is  more  becoming  to  wait 
patiently  upon  God  until  He  shall  show  clearly  tliat  which 
is  locked  up  in  His  heart.  The  day  of  judgment,  then, 
will  come  in  the  time  in  which  God  appointed  it  should 
come;  and  it  will  be,  when  it  comes,  full  of  fear  and  anguish, 
in  accordance  with  the  saying  which  St.  Augustine  has 
left  us  in  his  writings.^ 

And  this  is  the  import  of  the  saying :  "  Whatsoever  I  do," 
says  he,  "  whether  (it  be)  t<  sleep  or  to  watch,  to  rise  or  to 
sit  down,  to  rest  or  to  walk,  by  reason  of  the  greatness  of  my 
fear  of  the  coming  of  the  grievous  day,  I  imagine  that  the 
dreadful  voices  of  the  day  of  judgment  are  ceaselessly  in  my 
ears,  to  rouse  and  summon  me,  saying  this  word, '  Come  to 
judgment'."  Kow,  the  judgment,  when  it  shall  come,  has  the 
High  Father  given  to  His  Son,  because  the  Son  came  down 
and  united  Himself  with  the  uature  of  man,  and  on  behalf 
of  that  nature  He  gave  Hiniself  up  to  suííerings,  the  loss 
of  His  blood,  and  death,  in  order  to  redeem  them  from  the 
captivity ;  and  on  account  of  this,  the  High  Father  gave  all 
the  judgment  of  the  world  to  His  Son,  to  direct  it  at  His 
will.  Kuw,  in  the  time  when  Christ,  God's  only  Son,  shall 
come  down  to  judge,  lie  wiU  first  appear  on  a  white  cloud  in 
the  air,  and  thousands  of  saints  and  angels  with  Him.  At 
that  time,  however  ardently  the  sun  may  be  shining  in  its 
nature,  that  wiU  give  no  brighter  liglit  than  when  thc  sun  is 
seen  casting  a  feeble  ray  through  the  clouds  before  a  shower 

'   Lit.,  left  witli  us  written. 


122  A   DESCmPTION   OF  THE   DAY   OF  JUDGMENT. 

aymdengys  o  gorf  yr  arglóyd  órtli  edrych  arnaó.  ^  yna  yhenu- 
yn  y  braódór  pedwar  or  agylyon  vn  y  bob  kogyl  or  byd  yr 
gwyssaó  6rth  lleisseu  yhyrn  hirreid  holl  creaduryeid  neef 
dayar  ac  yffern.  ac  ystyr  y  lleisseu  vyd  hón  deóch  yr  varn. 
deóch  yr  varn.  yna  6rth  aruthter  llef  ygeir  alleisseu  y  kyrn 
y  kyffroant  holl  cryaduryeid  ac  ydoant  ar  ylla6n  duth  o  bob 
ardal  hyd  pan  ymdangossant  rac  bron  y  bra6d6r  llin  plant 
adaf.  agen  adoant  yn  gyrf  ac  eneideu.  [13]  aphob  dyn  ynuy- 
chan  ac  ynua6r  nyr  oydran  ybu  crist  ac  yn  hyd  a  lled  ydel6 
ef  pan  diodeua6d  yrageu.  %  yna  o  arch  ybra6d6r  yky wynnant 
yragylyon  ac  ydyholant  yrei  daa  oblith  yrei  drög  megys  y 
deholant  ybugelyth  ydeueid  oblith  ygeiuyr  ac  ygossodant 
yrei  daa  ar  yr  ystlys  dehe  yr  arglöyth  a  rei  dr6g  ar 
yrystlys  asseu  ^  Bellach  gwedy  pan  darfo  gossod  pob  peth 
ny  lee  y  ymdengys  crist  vnmab  dy6  yn  annyan  ni  yr 
creaduryeid  ny  del6  ybuassei  ef  ny  byd  yngothef  lleas  yr 
yprynu.  dan  dangos  y  [13^]  archolleu  ae  welieu  ar  hoU 
deuynnytheu  auuasseint  ny  deruynmi  megys  croys  gway6 
hoylon  ar  goran  drein.  %  yna  kyíîroi  awna  ny  dy6olyayth  dan 
v6r6  golygyon  ar  y  cryaduryeid  auythant  ar  yr  ystlys  deheu 
ytha6  agween  la6wen  ganta6  dan  dywedyd  ygeire  hyn.  De6ch 
vendigedigyon  veibon  ym  taad  I  or  neef  ymarthel6cli  achym- 
mer6ch  ych  ran  or  darnas  abaratoed  ychwi  o  declire  byd. 
cad6  vygheureitheu  awnaythochwi.  crymmu  ac  vthuthau 
ydysk  vyecgl6ys  I  ay  gwasnaythu  oy  gouynnyon.  trugar  [14] 
hau  awnaythoch  6rth  leuein  ytylodyon  ny  agenoctid  tr6y  rodi 
b6yd  yrnewyua6c.  diod  yr  sychedic.  ran  duthed  yr  kutbya6 


A   DESCIÎirTION    OF   TIIE   DAY    OF  JUDGMENT.  123 

of  rain,  by  reasoii  of  the  excess  of  light  that  shall  appear 
from  the  botìy  of  the  Lord  when  He  is  gazecl  upon.  Tlien 
the  Jiulj^e  wili  send  four  of  tlie  angels,  one  to  each  corner  of 
the  worhl,  to  summon,  by  tlie  voices  of  their  long  trumpets, 
all  the  creatures  of  heaven,  earth,  and  hell ;  and  the  import 
of  the  voices  wiU  be  this,  "  Come  to  judgment,  come  to  judg- 
ment."  Then,  at  the  dread  nature  of  the  voice,  and  the 
sound  of  the  trumpets,  all  creatures  will  be  aroused,  and  will 
come  with  great  speed^  from  every  region,  until  they  present 
themselves  before  the  Judge.  The  race  of  Adam's  children, 
moreover,  will  come  in  body  and  soul,  every  man,  both 
small  aud  great  (appearing)  of  the  age  and  stature  of  Christ 
when  He  suffered  death. 

Then,  at  the  command  of  the  Judge,  the  angels  will  arise 
and  separate  the  good  from  among  the  evil  ones,  as  the  shep- 
herds  separate  the  sheep  from  among  the  goats,  and  will  set 
the  good  on  the  right  side  of  the  Lord,  and  the  wicked  on 
His  left  side.  Now,  when  everything  has  been  set  in  its 
place,  Christ,  the  only  Son  of  God,  will  appear  to  the  crea- 
tures  in  our  nature  in  tlie  form  in  whicli  He  had  been  in 
the  world,  suífering  death  to  redeem  them,  showing  His 
wounds  and  bruises,  and  all  the  implements  that  had  been 
(instrumental)  in  causing  His  end — namely,  tlie  cross,  the 
spear,  the  nails,  and  the  crown  of  thorns.  Then  He  will  be 
moved  in  His  divine  nature,  casting  glances  upon  the  crea- 
tures  that  shall  be  upon  His  right  side  with  a  joyous  smile, 
saying  these  words :  "  Come,  blessed  sons  of  My  Father  of 
heaven,  claim  and  take  your  share  of  the  kiugdom  that  is 
prepared  for  you  from  the  beginning  of  the  worhl.  My  laws 
you  kept ;  you  bowed  and  were  obedient  to  the  teaching  of 
My  Church,  and  served  it  in  its  demands ;  you  pitied  the 
cry  of  the  poor  in  their  want,  giving  food  to  the  hungry, 
diiiik  to  the  thirsty,  clothing  to  cover  their  nukcd  bodies ; 

'  Lit.,  at  thcir  full  trot. 


124  A   DESCmPTION    ÜF   THE   DAY    OF   JUDGMENT. 

ykyrf  noython.  kydg6yiia6  awnaythocli  a  dithanii  y  gweinon 
cleiuon  ar  karcharoryon  ny  gouudyon  kyd  dohiryo  awn- 
aythoch  ar  nieir6  dan  yhebr6ng  y  hir  orf6wys  tr6y  wethieu 
achardodeu.  torri  ymrissoneu  r6g  gwyr  agwyr  yr  yd6yn  y 
garyad  achytundeb.  gothef  colli  ych  gwayd  awnaythoch  hyd 
he61yth  athomyth  o  garyad  arnaf.  I.  hyd  ybu  well  genn6ch 
dothef  yr  ageu  ammar^lé^Jchus  noc  ymaythu  ami  niy6n 
digoueint.  IT  Minneu  hethi6  dros  awnaythoch  o  weithredoyth 
daa  achyredigr6yth  ynii.  ac  yrsa61  aymardelweint  ami  yn- 
barnu  ychwi  hethi6  ac  ynrodi  dragywytha61  istethuae  ny  neef 
ny  lle  ycaffoch  byunyth  welet  ych  argi6yth  ny  dy6olyayth  yn 
ymborth  ac  yn  uy6yd  ychwi.  ac  ny  lle  y  kaffoch  dragyw- 
ytha61  heth6ch  llewenyth.  a  digriu6ch  hyd  na  allo  peu  na 
thauod  ydraythu  nay  amkanu.  %  yna  ardiwed  y  geir  yklywir 
ycryaduryeid  o  nerth  ypenneu  ac  aw6ch  y  callonneu  yn  [15] 
dodi  ga6r  lywenyth  ac  ync6ytha6  liyd  ydayar  dan  rodi  diolch 
ytha6  dros  yua6r  rod  ay  drugared.  1í  Bellach  gwedy  pan  darfo 
teruynnu  barn  yr  ystlys  deheu.  yna  ymhoylyd  yn  wimm6th 
awna  a  golygyon  aruthur  ganta6  yr  ystlys  asseu  ny  lle  y 
yiudangossant  yr  hoU  deuynnytheu  a  uuasseint  6rth  yderu- 
ynnu  megys  ydywesp6yd  vch6t  yarchoUeu  agen  ay  welieu 
aatkyuorant  ac  aymdinuant  o  wayt  liyd  pan  weler  y  dauyne 
llithredigyon  yn  ammal  ar  hyd  ygua6d  yna  yd6eid  ef  ygeire 
hyn  ychwi  agheredigyon  geneth[15-]laed  edrychoch  ar  adi- 
otheueis  o  poyneu  ac  ammarch  dryssochwi  yr  ychd6yn 
ach  rythau  o  gethiwed  yhythreuleid  rakko.  ychwithe  dros 
V}'y^gheredicr6yd  I  bod  ynwell  genn6ch  yr  liyd  y  buocli  ny 
byd  droi  ym  erbyn  tr6y  dorri  vyghyureitheu  am  gwaharthon 
atlir6y  ymherchi  ysa61  aymardelweint  ami  no  g6rhau  agwe- 
tliu  yym.  or  aclios  hynuy  llymma  vi  hethi6  yndyuod  yr 
ynili6  achwi  am  ych  agheredicróyd  ac  yr  gnuthur  dial  dros 
awnathoch  oweithredoyd  dr6g  1í  ycliwi  yngyntaf  yrei  aym- 
royssoch  ych  bod  yn  argl6ythi  heb  [IG]  ych  bod  treissa6 


A   DF.SCHIPTION   OF  THE   DAY    OF   JUnC.MENT.  125 

you  sympathised  with  and  comforted  the  feeble  sick  ones, 
and  the  prisoners  in  tlieir  sorrows ;  you  compassionated  the 
dead,  accompanying  them  to  tlieir  long  rest  with  prayers  and 
alms ;  you  settled  strife  Letween  men  and  men,  in  order  to 
Lring  them  into  love  and  unity ;  you  suffered  the  loss  of 
your  blood  in  the  streets  and  on  dunghills  from  love  to 
Me,  so  tliat  ymi  preferred  to  suffer  dislionourable  death 
rather  tlian  to  leave  Me  in  anger,  I,  this  day,  in  return  for 
what  you  did  of  good  deeds  and  líindness  to  Me,  and  to  such 
as  acknowledged  jNIe,  adjudge  and  graut  you  this  day  eternal 
thrones  in  lieaven,  where  you  shall  ever  see  your  Lord  in  His 
Godhead,  (to  be)  food  and  life  to  you,  and  wliere  you  shall 
enjoy  eternal  peace,  joy,  and  delight,  so  that  neither  mouth 
nor  tongue  can  declare  or  conceive  it."  Then,  wheu  these 
Avords  are  ended,  the  creatures  will  be  heard,  with  loud  voice 
and  ardent  heart,  uttering  a  shout  of  joy,  and  falling  to 
the  earth,  giving  thanks  to  Him  for  His  great  grace  and 
mercy.  Now,  when  the  judgment  of  (those  on)  the  right 
side  is  ended,  then  He  will  quickly  turn  with  a  dreadful  look 
to  the  left  side,  where  shall  be  shown  all  the  instruments  of 
His  death,  as  was  stated  above.  His  wounds,  moreover,  and 
His  bruises  wiU  flow  afresh  with  blood,  until  the  drops  are 
seen  thickly  trickling  down  His  body.  Tlien  He  will  say 
these  words :  "Ye  uncharitable  race,  behold  what  pains 
and  dishonour  I  suffered  for  you,  to  bring  and  free  you  from 
the  slavery  of  the  devils  yonder.  But  you,  in  return  for  My 
love,  preferred,  while  you  were  in  the  world,  to  turn  against 
Me,  by  breaking  JMy  laws  and  prohibitions,  and  by  insulting 
those  who  acknowledged  Me,  rather  than  do  homage  and 
submit  to  Me.  ■  On  account  of  that,  lo !  I  this  day  am  coming 
to  expostulate  with  you  for  your  unkindness,  and  to  take 
vengeance  for  what  evil  deeds  you  did.  You,  íìrst,  who 
strove  to  be  lords,  wliile  you  were  none,  you  oppressed  and 


126  A   DESCRIPTION    OF   THE   DAY    OF   JÜDGMENT. 

ac  yspeilaö  ykyffredin  bobyl  awnaythoch  oy  gallu  tróy  ych 
kydernid  ach  maóreth  heb  y  iaónhau.  1í  ychwitheu  auuoch 
vra6dw}T  drög  tróy  droi  ykyíreith  daa  ar  ygorthóyneb  yr 
gwerthe  a  gwabreu.  11  ychwitheu  auuoch  sóythogyon  dróg 
ynyspeilo  y  hyffredin  bobyl  yr  dóyn  daa  anwir  yr  argló- 
ythi.  ar  eil  yspeilo  j6  tróy  ykymmell  y  rodi  gwabre  ych- 
witheu  racych  ouan.  IT  ychwitheu  a  dorrassocli  ych  116e  my6n 
kyffreitheu  tr6y  d6yn  tiir.  dayar  adaa  yn  anwir  dros  werthe 
a  gwabre.  irych[16^]witheu  adreissassoch  vyecl6ys  oy  ia6n 
ay  dylyed  megys  oy  degemmeu  offryngeu.  renteu  aychyfre- 
itheu.  11  ychwitheu  yregl6yswyr  arothassoch  kyflebaythe  dr6g 
tr6y  ybu  ha6s  gan  y  bobloyth  gyffrediu  ymroi  y  pechod  ac 
yweithredoyth  dr6g.  ^  ychwitheu  goganu  ydynnyon  awn 
aythocli  ay  Uysenwá  my6n  kynuigen  tr6y  gelwytheu  a  dech- 
mygyon  dr6g  hyd  pan  baraoth  hynny  byth  vthunt6y  yngy- 
wilytli  ac  ammarch.  •[[  ychwitheu  adreissassoch  ygweinon  oy 
tiir  ay  dayar  tr6y  ykad6  my6n  kamwetli  hyd  ageu  heb  y 
edryd.  %  ychwitheu  [17]  adreulassoch  ych  einoys  my6n  go- 
dineb  torri  ych  priodasse  ymgymmaru  ach  kydwayd  ac  ym- 
galein  ach  gortherchade  my6n  ambechr6yd  dros  waharthon 
vyegl6ys.  %  ychwitheu  arodassoch  ych  daa  ar  okkyr  yr  kaffel 
yr  enniU  ma6r  oiar  y  benthic  kyuan.  ^ì  ychwitheu  kynll6yn- 
wyr  vuoch  yndienyidio  vyra  pridwerth  yr  bychydig  o  achoss- 
yon.  ^  ychwitheu  Uadron  kyffredin  vuoch  dan  d6yn  daa  y 
kywiryon  dr6y  dreis  achydernid  ych  clethyueu.  ^  ychwitheu 
creftwyr  a  masnachwyr  feilst  vuoch  ynt6ylla6  ykyffredin 
[17^]  bobyl  ar  ych  masnache  tr6y  li6  116  p6ys  a  messur. 


A   DESCRIPTION   OF  THE   DAY   OF   JUDGMENT.  127 

plundered  tlie  common  people  of  their  property^  by  your 
power  and  greatness  witliout  rendering  them  right.  You, 
too,  were  wicked  judges,  perverting-  righteous  laws  for 
bribes  and  rewards.  And  you  were  unjust  officials,  robbing 
the  comnion  people  in  order  to  bring  unrightful  gain  to  your 
lords  ;  and  the  second  (mode  of)  robbing  is  by  compelling 
them  to  give  you  bribes  through  fear  of  you.  And  you 
Yiolated  your  oaths  in  law-suits,  taking  land,  ground,  and 
goods  unjustly  for  bribes  and  rewards.  And  you  robbed 
My  Church  of  its  right  and  due — that  is,  of  its  tithes,  its 
ofterings,  rents,  and  legal  rights.  And  you,  ecclesiastics,  set 
evil  examples,  whereby  the  common  people  were  more  ready 
to  yield  themselves  to  sin  and  to  evil  deeds.  And  you  slan- 
dered  men,  and  called  them  evil  names,  in  malice,  through 
lies  and  wiched  inventions,  so  that  the  same  continued  ever 
a  shame  and  a  dishonour  to  them.  And  you  plundered  the 
weak  of  their  lands  and  grounds,  keeping  them  wrong- 
fully  uutil  death,  without  restoring  them.  And  you  spent 
your  life  in  fornicalion,  adultery,  marrying  with  your  blood- 
relations,  and  following  your  concubines  in  depravity,  con- 
trary  to  the  prohibitions  of  My  Church.  And  you  put  out 
your  wealth  on  usury,  in  order  to  secure  great  income  from 
your  capital  loan.  And  you  were  liers  in  wait  in  order 
to  assassinate  my  redeemed  for  little  cause.  And  you  were 
common  tliieves,  tahing  the  property  of  tlie  innocent  by 
YÌolence  and  the  might  of  your  swords.  And  you  were  false 
craftsmen   and    tradesmen,   deceiving   the   common   people 

^  Strictly^a//w  is  "power";  but  does  it  not  liere  mean  "property"?  One 
may  compare  cyfocth,  •which  now  nieans  simply  "wealth",  but  originally 
meant  "  might,  power",  as  is  seen  by  the  Irish  cimhacht,  and  by  the  old 
signification  of  Iloll-gy/oethog,  "almighty",  Ir.,  uile-cliunihachtach. 

2  Lit.,  turning  guod  laws  to  the  contrary,  or  inside  out.  Troi  ar  y 
gwrthwyneh  is  a  familiar  jilirase  in  modern  colloquial  Welsh  for  "  turn- 
ing  a  thing  (as  a  garmeut)  inside  out";  lit.,  to  turu  upon  the  opposite 
face  :  Gwrth-  —  anti. 


128  A   DESCRIPTION    OF   THE   DAY   OF   JUDGMENT. 

'f  Ychwitheu  setwyr  aghewnyou  vuoch  6rth  ymaclo  ar  meirö 
treuló  y  daa  6rth  gardode  a  gwasnaythe  dy6a61  ychwitheu 
tr6y  d6yllodrayth  nydroi  yn  reid  ac  yn  wassaneth  ychwy- 
liunein.  ^  Achyda  hynny  anrugaroc  vuoch  ynlcyffredin  6rth 
leuein  ynewynoc  ynerchi  b6yd  jr  karyad  arnaf.  6rth  y 
sychedic  yn  erchi  dia6d.  6rth  ynoyth  yn  erchi  peth  yguthya6 
ygywilyth  ac  agharedigyon  vuoch  6rth  ych  kydAvayd  ny 
cleuydeu  ay  carchareu  heb  y  hedrych  yr  y  [18]  dithanu  ny 
gouudyon.  hyd  y  bu  well  gennoch  bob  amser  ymroi  y  weith- 
redoyth  dr6g  tr6y  ryuic  y  hythreuleid  racko  hyd  angeu  noc 
ymroi  ymkyfreitheu  yr  dysk  a  rebuth  y6ch  y  ouynokau  y 
diwarnod  hetlii6.  ac  yr  disk6  a  rebuth  ychwi  y  benydyo  ac 
yttiuaru  ac  yr  ia6nhau  ykamweth  hyn  kyn  ageu. 

%  Bellach  gwedy  pan  darfo  ymgeuethli6  ap]m6b  ny  rath 
megys  y  dywesp6yd  Ychot  ny  byth  yr  vn  a  allo  rodi  gwad 
dros  yran  na  dihurdeb.  1í  Yna  yd6eid  ybra6d6r  my6n  kydernid 
ylid  ygeire  hyn  [18^]  e6chwi  Yelltigedigyon  genethlaed  yr 
taan  poenedic  paraus  yrh6n  a  baratoed  yrkythreul  pennaf  ay 
ygylyon  yr  dechre  byd.  ^Ar  diweth  ygeire  hyn  yclywir 
ycolledigyon.  my6n  crynuan  yn  rodi  garmeu  aruthredigyon  ' 
o  nerth  ypenneu  dan  oll6ng  dagre  ynammyl  hyd  ygruthie 
athan  ochuanu  yr  amser  yganned  heb  orf6wys.  %  yna  heb  oir 
gwedy  rodi  yuaín  y  ymgyffroant  y  kythreuleid  heb  6ybot  y 
rif  ac  yymgymyscant  ar  colledigyon  truein  dan  ytynnu 
ayllusko  ynammarchus  Yed  ar  ogu6ch  [19]  ylle  y  poenir  nc 


A   DESCRIl'TION   OF   TIIE    DAY   OF   JUDGMENT.  129 

in  your  dealings  by  means  of  oath,  weight,  and  measure.  And 
you  were  false  executors,  departing  from  the  will  of  the  dead 
that  their  wealth  should  be  spent  in  charities  and  divine 
services,  you  deceitfully  turning  it  to  your  own  need  aud 
service.  And,  beside  that,  you  were  generally  unmerciful  to 
the  cry  of  the  hungry  when  asking  food  for  h)ve  to  me,  to 
the  thirsty  when  afiking  drink,  to  the  naked  when  asking 
something  to  hide  his  shame ;  and  you  were  unkind  to  your 
blood-relations  in  their  sicknesses  and  imprisonments,  not 
Yisiting  them  to  comfort  them  in  their  sorrows;  so  that 
you  always  preferred  to  give  yourselves  up  to  evil  deeds, 
through  the  presumption  of  the  deyils  yonder,  eveu  until 
death,  rather  than  submit  yourselves  to  My  laws  (set)  for 
instruction  and  warning  to  you  to  fear  this  day,  aud  for 
instruction  and  warning  to  you  to  do  penance  and  repent, 
and  to  rectify  this  iniquity  before  death." 

Now,  when  He  shall  have  ended  expostulating  with  all  in 
their  degree,  as  was  said  above,  there  will  be  no  one  that 
shall  be  able  to  give  denial  or  excuse  on  his  part.  Then  the 
Judge,  in  the  might  of  His  wrath,  will  utter  these  words : 
"  Go  ye,  accursed  race,  to  the  perpetual  penal  fire  which 
is  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels  from  the  beginning  of 
the  world."  When  these  words  are  ended,  the  lost  will  be 
heard  tremblingly  to  utter  dreadful  cries  in  a  loud  voice,^ 
shedding  frequent  tears  down  their  cheeks,  and  ceaselessly 
bewailing  the  time  they  were  born.  Then,  without  delay, 
when  the  judgment  has  been  given,  the  devils  in  unknown 
numbers  will  rouse  themselves,  and  will  mingle  with  the 
wretclied  lost  ones,  drawing  and  haling  them  in  dishonour 
over  the  place  where  they  will  be  tormented,  and  thence 

1  Lit.,  with  the  strength  of  their  heads.  The  expression  is  common 
in  the  South  :  it  is  often  said  of  one  that  he  cries  or  shouts  nerth  'i  hcn, 
nerth  asgwrn  H  hen,  or  nerth  'i'  yerj  (the  streugth  of  his  head,  of  his  throat). 
The  preposition  is  generally  omitteil,  the  noun  being  used  absohitely. 

VOL.  IV.  K 


130  A   DESCRIPTION   OF   THE    DAY   OF   JÜDGMENT, 

otliyno  ytauylu  awnahant  yn  wimmöth  ac  yndiarbed  ydyu- 
ynder  yffern  or  lle  ny  byth  eil  bryuii  nac  eil  ymhoylyd  nac 
amgen  obeith  no  thrigo  yno  dan  reol  ykythreuleid  myón 
taan  tywyllóch  a  bryuti.     Sim  fine. 


NOTES. 

F.  1.  Cìjfrdythrjt—cyfarwìjddyd  :  not  the  compd.  of  cyf  and  rhiüydd, 
meaning  "  exiDedition",  "facility". 

Diskynnant :  discyn  (to  descend,  to  fall)  here  seems  to  mean  "  happen" ;  cf. 
dyrjioydd  (happen),  fr.  cioyddo  (fco  fall);  the  Lat.  accidere,  with  the  same  rad. 
meaning  ;  Eng.  befall;  Gev.  fall,  fallen,  zufall,  &c. 

Kynn6ll  is  rendered  by  Davies  "  sudum  et  translatitiè  opportunitas" . 

Ciudode:  ciiodod  (L.  civitat.)  usually  means  "a  tribe,  a  clan". 

Myôn  gîoasnaythe,  etc.  The  modern  rule  that  meion  can  only  be  used  with 
nouns  which  are  not  "  distributed",  aud  that  yn  must  be  used  when  the  noun 
has  the  definite  article  expressed  or  implied,  is  not  observed  in  the  older 
language.  The  present  example  may  mean,  "  In  the  services  of  the  Church", 
or,  strictly,  "In  (certain)  services",  etc.  So  the  foUowing  may  be  translated 
either  way  :  myón  ynuydrôyth  ygythreulayth  (5-)  ;  m.  lcydernid  ylit  (6)  ;  m. 
fyrfd^er  y  ia6n  fyth  ( 7^).  But  m.  ialonneu  ydynnyon  (6^ )  can  only  be  ren 
dered  "In  the  hearts  of  the  men",  and  would  now  require  yn. 

l^.  Tragrymder,  extreme  force  (fr.  tra,  "  over,  very,  extreme";  grym, 
"  force";  and-cZe>',  termination  of  abstract  nouns)  is  not  found  in  the  dic- 
tionaries. 

Sythter  strictly  means  "stiffness";  cf.  gioarsyth,  "  stiff-necked". 

Âruthredigyon :  aruthredig  here  is  active,  "amazing",  "  astounding", 
though  in  accordance  with  mod.  usage  it  would  mean  "  amazed,  astounded" — 
-edig  forming  generally  a  kind  of  passive  participle.  But  the  two  meanings  ^ 
run  into  one  another  :  thus  caredig  now  means  "loving,  kind",  more  com- 
monly  than  "  loved,  beloved",  its  strict  meaning.  Cf.  llithrcd ig yon  {tr\ck- 
ling)  in  4^:  byôedigyon  (5)="loving".  But  cloedigyon  (3)  and  drylledigyon 
(9)  are  passive. 

Tr6y  gymmysc  mar6walaythe,  lit.,  "with  miugled  deaths".  This  is  an 
instance  of  what  iu  classical  grammars  is  called  hypallage,  the  meaning  being 
"  signs  in  the  moon,  combined,  accompanied  with  deaths",  etc.  It  is  simi- 
larly  used  in  3^,  yrynreuethodeu  hyn  achymmyse  gwangred  (lit.,  these  wonders 
and  commingled  weak-faith)  =  "  These  wonders  combined  with  weak  faith", 

Crynnant,  a  form  not  in  the  dictionaries. 


A   DESCRIPTION    OF   TIIE    DAY   OF   JÜDGMENT.  131 

they  will  quickly  and  unsparingly  liurl  tliem  to  the  depth  of 
liell,  whence  there  wiU  be  no  redemption,  nor  return,  nor 
other  hope  than  to  remain  there,  under  the  rule  of  the  devils, 
in  fire,  darkness,  and  filth.     Sinc  fine. 


2.  Llifdyuyreth,  the  uncontracted  pl.  of  dwfwr;  so  în  8'  dyuyreth  and 
dyuereth  ;  Zeuss  notices  dyfred  (Gram.  Celt.^,  p.  291). 

Bra6  =  brawd  (judgment),  Ir.  hrath,  etc.  In  tliLs  word  the  writer  regu- 
larly  drops  the  final  d. 

Hóylaô  ny  teniyneu  seems  to  mean  "run-their-course  to  their  termina- 
tion".  If  30,  yn  here  has  the  meaning  o£  Lat.  in  with  accus.  "  into",  which 
in  the  modern  language  is  i;  so  o  le  yn  lle  (9'')  =  "from  pla.ce  to  place". 
This  force  of  yn  survive3  in  the  Biblical  phrases  yn  tan  (a  dejlir  yn  tan, 
"  shall  be  cast  into  the  fire",  Matth.  üi,  10),  yn  oes  oesoedd  (vmto  the  age  of 
ages),  in  scccula  sceculorum.  The  same,  perhaps,  is  its  original  force  in  the 
caaimon  e's.^iTPSÚona  torri  yn  yffloìi,  "  to  break  into  fragments  "  (so  torri  yn 
ddamau,  yn  ddrylliau) ;  llosgi  yn  lludw,  "  taburn  to  ashes",  etc. 

Y  ymdaijossant.  The  writer  seems  to  have  had  no  objection  to  hiatus,  aa 
this  phrase,  several  times  repeated,  shows.  Witness  also  yochuahant  (4^),  y 
ymhoylant  (7),  y  ymlathant  (9),  y  ymglymmaòd  (10-),  y  yni'jyffroant,  y 
ymgymmyscant  (18"). 

2^.  Eyluethdodeu  (arts),  hodie,  celfyddydau ;  uot  found  in  the  diction- 
aries. 

Awetto  geni  crist.  This  construction  is  that  called  in  classical  grammars 
the  accus.  with  the  infinitive.  It  is  not  natural  to  modern  Welsh,  being 
practically  confined  to  bod  and  its  compounds  darfod,  dyfod,  etc.  In  the 
case  of  other  verbs  the  subject  takes  a  preposition, — o  if  it  follows  the  verb, 
i  if  it  precedes  ;  or  the  verb  must  be  resolved  into  bod,  with  one  of  the  par- 
ticiples  of  the  verb  itself  :  e.g.,  Nyni  a  wyddom  lefaru  o  Dduio  îtrrth  Moses  (we 
know  that  God  spake  unto  M. — John  ix,  39)  ;  or,  i  Dduw  lefaru  wrth  M.; 
or,  less  elegantly,  fod  Duw  wedi  llefaru  wrth  Moses.  Rarely  the  accus.  with 
infin.  is  found  with  other  verbs  than  bod,  e.g.,  in  1  Thess.  iv,  14,  Os  ydym  yn 
credu  farw  lesu  (if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died).  Other  example8  in  the 
present  article  are  tr6y  geissa6  pob  vn  ragori  (1);  cyn  ori  ygwayd  (4);  and 
gìcedy  mynet  y  geir  (7 ). 

2^^.  Yn  y  messur,  lit.  means  "  in  the  measure",  but  is  here  used  of  manner 
rather  than  of  degree  being  equivalent  to  "aa";  so  also  ny  messur  y  dywesp6yd 
vchod  (7). 

Wnayth  lla6er  o  ouudyon  ar  yr  escob,  etc.  Mod.  Welsh  woiild  reqnire  i 
instead  of  ur. 

k2 


132  A   DESCRIPTION   OF   THE   DAY    OF   JUDGMENT. 

3.  Yr  ardaloì/th  y  tramóyaôth  crist  is  elliptical,  and  in  the  mod.  language 
would  be  writteu  yr  arcl.  y  tr.  C'\  trwyddynt,  or  yr  ard.  trwy  y  rhai  y  tram.  cr. 

Anfythedolyon  yenethlaeid  (uubelieving  nations).  Two  forms  not  given  in 
the  dictionaries. 

Ilyd  nr  yr  amser.     Hyd  would  now  be  used  without  ar. 
Ydoe  is  stiUthe  common  form  for  y  deaai. 
Kyn6rthau.     Not  given  in  the  dictionaries . 

3'^.  Dyôolynyth.     Another  uuregistered  form. 

Yngyhdled.      Yn  would  not  now  be  used  with  cyhelled. 

Aruthter  (fr.  aruth  =  aruthi)  i.q.,  a>uthredd.     An  unregistered  form. 

Cyuerhyn  (opposition).  The  iise  of  the  word  as  a  uoun  is  not  uoted  in 
the  dictionaries. 

Anreuethodeu  (great  wonders  ;  an  being  here  intensive).  In  the  third 
edition  of  Dr.  Pugh's  Dictionary  tliis  word  is  rendered  simply  by  "a  being 
not  a  wouder.     Anrhyfeddodau  Alecsauder — the  Not-wouders  of  Alexander". 

4.  Ochleddyfeu  (with  swords),  so  o  yspryd  y  ene(6).  Cf.  iúso  nyd  athnahyfhir 
o  neb  onyd  orgwir  dy6  (8^).  0  is  commouly  used  in  the  Glamorgau  dialect  to 
denote  the  instrument.     Cf.  the  Gk.  it. 

Hef^lyth  :  hewl,  aud  heidydd,  in  the  colloquial  Dimetiau,  are  the  regular 
represeutatives  of  the  literary  heol  aud  heolydd. 

Messyth  =mensydd,  pl.  of  macs  (field). 

Ymbarch  ac  vynt.  Pugh  (third  edition)  gives  ymSarcAM =respect  one's  self, 
but  does  not  specify  the  preseut  use  of  the  Reflexive  to  denote  mutuality. 

Yerthyryon.  The  writer  generally  leaves  out  the  i  in  the  pl.  endiugs  (e.g., 
dolureu  for  doluriau),  but  in  this  word  inserts  it  in  opposition  to  the  modern 
usage. 

Ori  {  =  oeii).     So  the  S.  Wallian  form  of  oer  is  6r. 

Ouynnohahant  (fr.  ofynocau),  of  which  the  dictionaries  give  ouly  the  con- 
tracted  form  of  ofnocau. 

4^.  Tarrenni  means  here,  as  the  context  pretty  clearly  shows,  "cliÊfs, 
precipices".  The  dictionaries  assign  to  taren  the  various  meauings — "  a  spot  ; 
a  tump,  knoll  ;  a  brake".  It  appears  iu  the  place-uame  Penâarren  or  Pcn  y 
Darren,  and  is  the  same  as  the  Ir.  taircan,  "adesceut".  Auother  f orm  of  the 
word  is  te  yn,  not  recorded  by  the  lexicographers,  but  fouud  in  the  equivalent 
place-name  Penderyn,  and  paralleled  agaiu  by  the  Ir.  teirin,  "  a  descent". 

Ochuahant.     Ocìifäu,"  to  cr j  och",  Gk.  oi'iuẃfen',  is  not  iu  the  dictiouaries. 

K6yth6ch.  Cwyddo  (to  fall),  Bret.  koueza,  is  now  used  only  in  its  com- 
pounds  dygwydd  (happen,  hefaìl),  go-gwydd  (incliue),  etc. 

Diuyrru  in  this  sense  is  uot  recorded  in  the  dictionaries,  though  difyrru 
( to  divert)  and  dyfyrru  (to  shorten)  are  giveu. 

Ryueleu.     The  usual  pl.  is  rhyfeìoedd. 

Meiboneu.  Probably  the  pl.  of  mahon,  which  the  dictionaries  render  by 
"a  youth,  a  youug  hero";  here  the  epithet  "  disyuóyryou"  fixes  the  meauing 
as  "  young  childreu,  infants". 


A    DESCRiriION    OF   TllE   DAY    OF  JUDGMENT.  133 

Disyii6yryon,  usually  sigiùfying  "Berseless",  here  =  "  simple,  innocent,  un- 
conseiuus". 

Garthn.  The  diction.aries  give  no  help  in  fixing  the  meaning  of  this  word, 
which  occurs  agaiu  on  p.  6-.  It  is  possibly  connected  with  Ir.  gartìia,  "  a 
shout,  cry,  noise".  On  this  assumption  it  would  mean  here  "beating  the 
hauds  with  a  loud  noise",  and  ou  6'',  "  crashing  in  its  fall". 

5.  Ynwynnycku  =  wkennychu,  dialectic  for  chwennycku. 
Mcjys  here  siguifies  "  namely",  as  also  on  f.  6. 

Ysynt.  Apparently  a  form  coiiipouuded  of  ys  and  ynt.  It  does  not  seem  to 
be  uoticed  by  Zeuss,  wLo,  however,  gives  and  illustrates  ysydynt  {Gram. 
Celt.-,  553). 

Yyóediyyoti :  lyic-edi'j  (liviug)  is  not  iu  the  dictionaries. 

Ymlid  ac  ymjyuctkli6.  One  might  conjecture  ymlid  to  be  a  clerical  error 
for  ymliw  (espostulate),  but.  that  ymlidio  ac  ymjyfetM  are  found  together 
elsewhere,  e.rj.,  in  the  extract  under  yinyyfetM  in  Pugh'*. 

5".  Ârahu.  Here  again  the  dictionaries  fail  us,  giving  under  arab  and  its 
derivatives  only  "  witty,  droll",  etc.  But  the  peculiar  Breton  form  arabad 
in  Le  (joúidec  seems  to  be  connected  with  this,  and  to  throw  light  upou  it. 
There  we  read  :  "  Je  ue  conuais  ce  mot  employé  que  dans  cette  phrase  : 
arabad  eo,  il  ce  faut  pas,  il  est  défendu,  il  n'est  pas  permis." 

0  vyir6.  Yi  is,  perhaps,  on  the  whole,  a  more  accurate  representation  of 
this  diphthongal  sound  than  the  common  ei. 

Wasnaytlujar.  This  word  now  meaus  "  serviceab]e",  but  here  the  adj.  is 
used  as  a  noun  in  the  related  sense  of  "  servants". 

6.  Oliffer.  A  form  derived  either  fr.  oliiartim  (in  Mons  olivarum)  or  fr. 
adj.  olivarius.  The  usual  name  is  mynydd  yr  Olewydd  (the  Mouut  of  01ive 
trees). 

Ynjadeu  :  cadeu  here  = "  hosts".  The  Corn.  cad,  later  cas,  and  Arm.  lad 
(illustrated  by  Villemarqué  only  from  his  own  Barzaz-Breiz)  have  only  the 
meaning  "  battle",  "  conflict".  To  the  Ir.  cath  O'Reilly  gives  this  meaning 
and  also  "  an  Irish  battalion  of  3000  men  ;  a  tribe,  descendants". 

6''.  Ynu6deu.  Bwdeu,  an  unrecorded  pl.  form  of  buyd ;  old  Welsh  and 
old  Corn.,  buit ;  Ir.,  buadh,  biadh  ;  Arm.,  botd  or  bouid,  with  jil.  bocdou. 
The  usual  "Welsh  pl.  is  bicydydd. 

]Varann6yd.  The  meaning  here  approaches  that  illustrated  iu  Pugh'  : 
Duw  a  ranodd,  nef  a  rjafodd  (God  did  dispense,  heaven  he  did  obtain). 

AmbeUach  (rarer).  An  unrecorded  comparative  form  fr.  ambdl  (sume,  few), 
which  is  probably  rightly  derived  from  aw '(which  strictly  means  "  about, 
around";  old  Gaulish,  ambi ;  Lat.,  ambi  ;  Gk.,  ò^^ìi  ;  but  is  here  only  inteu- 
8Ìve  as  in  amlwy,  amr/en,  amryw,  etc.)  and  pell  (far) ;  ambdl  would  thus  be 
cquivalent  to  Campbell's  "  fcw  and  far  bctwccu". 


134  A   DESCRIPTION    OF   THE   DAY    OF   JUDGMENT. 

7.  Yîoethd,  i.e  ,  y  chwedl,  which  still  remains  in  the  colloquial  speech  of 
CarcUganshire  y  wheddel  :  e.g.,  Y  mae  hynna  yn  hen  wheddel  (that  is  an  old 
tale)  ;  Ni  wyddion  i  o'r  wheddel  (I  knew  nothing  of  the  afifair,  the  story). 
This  idiomatic  phrase  is  particularly  used  of  something  that  happens  unex- 
pectedly — Ni  wyddion  i  o'r  wheddel  nes  'dôdd  e  wedi  myn'd  (before  I  had 
realised  the  fact,  he  was  gone). 

7.  Yhanabythant  (wiU  recognise,  wUl  kDow).  Âdnabod  usually  means  "  to 
know  a  person",  and  is  distinguished  from  gicyhod  ("  to  know  a  fact"),  some- 
what  as  Ger.  hennen  fr.  wissen,  or  Fr.  connaüre  fr.  savoir.  But  in  colloquial 
speech,  as  here,  nabod  or  adnabod,  is  often  used  with  a  wider  signification, 
e.g,,  nabod  'i  gamsynied,  "  to  kuow,  recognise  one's  mistake". 

Rethiweth,  i.e.,  cethiwedd.  The  usual  form  is  caethiwed,  the  final  d  not  being 
aspirated. 

7^.  Teir  personyeid.  This  differs  from  the  modern  language  in  iising  a  pl. 
subst.  with  the  numeral ;  and  in  making  person  fem.  lUce  the  Lat.  persona. 
We  now  say  tri  ^ìherson.  The  word  peí'son  has  now  two  plurals  with  cUstinct 
meanings,  jìersonau  meaning  "  persons",  \\\nìe  personiaid  siguifies  "parsons". 

Diivadalr6yd  =  dyivadalrwydd,  fr.  gicadal  (staunch,  firm),  di-  qv  dy-  being 
intensive  not  negative. 

Buarth  (strictly,  "a  cow-yard"),  here,  "sheepfold";  the  word  corlan  being 
used  in  this  passage  in  the  authorised  version  of  the  New  Testament. 

8.  Llyfer,  retaining  the  e  of  liber,  now  changed  to  Uyfyr,  Uyfr. 
Cupit  fr.  cubitus,  hodie,  cufydd. 

0  iar  =  "  above";  in  (7)  o  iarfoith  it  =  "  from". 
Ved  =  o\äer  bet  (v.  Zeuss2,  691). 

8^.  Äthnábythir,  i.e.,  addnabyddir  with  the  d  of  the  prefix  aspLrated. 

Rygedua  by  transposition  for  rhedegfa,  "  running,  course".  It  may  be  only 
a  clerical  error,  as  we  have  further  on,  rydecuae  (9^). 

Dìgylchwynnu.  An  unrecorded  form  eciuivalent  to  dygylchynu  (to  sur- 
round,  encompass). 

9.  Ymdoant.     Perhaps  a  clerical  error  for  ymdroant. 
Gl6b6r=gwlybwr  (a  liquid)  fr.  gwlyb,  gwlyp  =  lT.  fiiuch.     The  present  dia- 

lectic  form  is  glybivr,  the  w  after  the  initial  g  being  rejected  in  the  colloquial 
language,  as  in  the  cognate  Corn.  glibor,  Arm.  glébor. 

Seil  properly  =  "  f oundations" ;  but  here  by  meton.  for  "things  founded, 
Btructures,  buildings". 

Yssic  is  usually  passive  ("  bruised,  crushed,  shattered" ;  e.g.,  corsen  yssig, 
"a  bruised  reed"),  but  here  is  used  actively,  "bruising,  crushing". 

Crynuau  dayar  =  the  modern  daear-grynfau.  The  writer  has  already  used 
the  phrase  crynnant  dayar  (l^). 

9^.  Cyfucheteir,  a  verb  f ormed  from  cyf-uch-ed  =  cìjfmuch,  the  equal  degree 
of  uch-el.  Neither  cyfuched  nor  cyfuchetau  is  recorded  in  the  dictionaries, 
though  cyfuchin  (to  make  of  one  height)  is  given. 

CZa6r  =  Ir.  clár  (a  table,  board,  etc. )  It  now  commonly  means  "a  lid, 
covering"  of  any  YesBel,  ''cover"  of  a  book,  etc;  it  is  also  used  in  phrases:  ar 


A   DESCEIPTION   OF   THE   DAY   OF  JUDGMENT.  135 

glaicr,  like  ar  gacl,  "  known,  extant" :  e.g.,  Dyw  e'  ddim  ar  'jlam'  erhyn  hyn, 
it  is  no  lunger  to  be  found  ;  so  i  ijlawr  :  e.g.,  y  mae  e'  wedi  dôd  i  glaior  eto, 
it  luis  come  to  light  again. 

Na  gallu,  etc.  =ac  heb  ailu.     Na  here  is  something  like  L.  nec. 

10.  Teruyn  commonly  means  "bound,  limit";  but  here  has  the  same 
force  as  Corn.  termyn,  "time,  season,  appointed  time":  e.g.,  a  ver  dermyn,  in 
a  short  time.     V.  Williams'  Lex.  Cornu-Brit.  s.  v.  termyn. 

Ceudod,  "  cavity,  hoUow" ;  here,  "  bosom". 

Eisôys  (i.e.,  eisoes,  wliich  now  commonly  =  "already"),  "however,  never- 
theless". 

B616  tyb,  lit.,  cast  an  ojjinion ;  the  metaphor  is  the  same  as  in  "conjec- 
ture". 

Ystyr  here  seems="reason". 

lO^.  Pynheu,  pl.  of  pwngc,  "subject,  point,  matter". 

Ynryoli  ;  rheoli  strictly  =  "  rule,  sway,  order". 

Goluhau  i.q.,  goleuhau ;  so  goluer  (12^)  =goleufer.  Cf.  dehuach  (11)  = 
deheuach  and  dihurdeb  {18)  =  dihcurdeb. 

Parannu=pariannu,  which  in  Pugh  is  explained  as  meaning  "to  render 
causative",  but  without  illustration. 

Seith  diwarnod.  The  numeral  here  takes  the  sing.  as  in  modern  Welsh, 
but  subsequent  examples  have  the  plural —  7  planede,  7  rinwethe,  etc. ;  so  teir 
personyeid  (7^). 

Gwethieu  (petitions);  gweddi,  Ir.  guidhe,  now  means  "prayer", 

11.  Difr6ytha6.     Lit.,  "  to  render  fruitless". 

Seith  gwithredoyd  ydrugareth.  In  Athrawadh  Gristnogawl,  p.  57,  these  are 
enumerated  : — "Saith  weithred  y  drugaredd  gorforawl.  Rhoi  bwyd  i'r  tlawd 
newnog.  Rhoi  diod  ir  tylodion  sychedig.  Dilladu'r  noethion.  Rhoi  letty  i'r 
pellennig.  Ydrych  cleifion.  Gof'n'yaw  cyrchrorion.  Cladu'r  meirw".  In 
an  old  MS.  in  the  writer's  possession,  they  are  versified  as  follows  : — 

"  Englyn  i  saith  weithred  trugaredd. 
Dod  fwj-d  a  diod,  par  dy  a     dülad, 
Diwalla'r  carchardy, 
GwiHa'r  claf  yn  y  gwely, 
I'r  marw  par  gael  daear  dy." 

In  the  same  way  we  find  them  versified  in  the  Lay  Folhs'  Catechism  (Early 
Eng.  Text  Soc.):— 

"  The  first  is  to  fede  tham  that  er  hungry. 

That  othir,  for  to  gif  tham  drynk  that  er  thirsty. 

The  third,  for  to  clethe  tham  that  er  clatheless. 

The  ferthe,  is  to  herber  them  that  er  houselesse. 

The  fifte,  for  to  visite  them  that  ligges  in  sikenesse. 

The  sext,  is  to  heli)  tham  that  in  prisin  er. 

Thc  seyent,  to  bcry  dude  meu  that  has  mister." 


13G  A   DESCRIPTION   OF  TIIE   DAY   OF   JUDGMENT. 

It  appears  the  writer  lias  not  exhausted  "  the  sevens",  as  the  Welsh  Catc- 
chism  quoted  gives  also  "  Saith  weithred  y  drugaredd  ysprydawl",  while  the 
English  one  adds  "  the  Seven  Yirtues"  and  the  "  Seven  Yices". 

Gobrôi/ir.  Gwobricyo  usually  means  "  to  reward,  to  recompense" ;  but  here 
=  "to  give  as  a  reward". 

Yuod  vdly  ac  na  bo  velly.  Lit.  =  "its  being  so,  and  that  it  shall  not  have 
been  so". 

Ouyna6c=moà.  ofnog  (timid),  but  meaning  "  terrible". 

ll^.  El-yslcu,  etc,  e  =  ai ;  eiste,  i.e.,  ai  isfe. 

Vrth  pan  del.  A  peculiar  vise  o£  lurth,  which  does  not  seem  to  be  noticed 
by  Zeuss. 

Eynhirieid  is  not  given  in  the  dictionaries,  but  seems  to  be  a  compd.  of 
cyn  and  diriaid,  which  Davies  renders  "improbus,  nequam".  Now,  how- 
ever,  diriaid  is  used  vaguely  of  anything  excessive,  somewhat  corresponding 
to  the  slaug  use  of  Eng.  "  awful".  Y  mae  yna  le  diried,  it  is  an  "  awful" 
place  ;  yr  oedd  yno  beth  diried  o  bobol,  there  was  an  "  awful"  lot  of  people 
there. 

Ym  eluste,  i.e.,  yn  fy  nghlustiau. 

12.  Crôybren.  An  unregistered  form  which  evidently  means  "cloud". 
On  the  next  page  (12^)  the  pl.  crwybyr  occurs.  The  dictionaries  give  crwybr 
with  the  meanings  "  scum,  a  honeycomb".  In  parts  of  S.  Wales  it  has 
another  meaning — "  hoar-frost".  The  common  word  is  üwyd-reiv  (lit.,  grey- 
frost);  but  crtoybyr  is  used  of  the  heavier  deposit  experienced  in  mountainoua 
districts,  when  the  vapour  forms  in  long,  feathery  crystals  on  trees,  plants, 
etc.  The  N.  W.  word  is  barug.  Dr.  Davies  has  "  Crwybr,  Favus,  faex 
mellis.  Älijs  cwybr".  With  the  latter  coincides  the  Arm.  íoabr,  houabr 
(nuage),  Tcoabren,  lcouabren  (un  seul  nuage),  pl.  hoabrenou.  V.  Le  Gonidec, 
s.  V. 

Glemdôyll.  This  seems  to  be  the  form  in  the  MS.,  but  it  is  somewhat 
indistinct.     The  word  is  unknown  to  the  present  writer. 

12^.  7VaTOrt6rcîer  =  exceeding  greatness.  An  unrecorded  form,  but  the 
equivalent  tramaiuredd  is  given  in  the  dictionaries. 

Hirreid,     Unrecorded.     Apparently  a  longer  form  from  hir, 
Llin  (a  race,  line),  L.  Ihiea,  Corn.  linicth,  lynneth. 

13.  Bugelyth,  pl.  of  bugail,  hodie  bugeiliaid, 

Llcas,  Lethum,  caedes  (Dr.  D.)  Later  dictionaries  copy  him  without  illus- 
tration. 

13^.  Ythuthau,  i.q.,  tifuddhau.  Possibly  this  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a 
transcriber's  blunder  :  dd  and  f  or  v  are  often  interchanged.  Thus  hwyfcll 
(a  female  salmon)  is  also  written  hioydäell;  so  Caerdydd  aud  Caerdyf  (CardiíF). 

Man  duthed  :  tudded =coYermg,  vesture. 


A   DESCIIIPTION   OF   TIIE  DAY   OF  JUDGMENT.  137 

14.  T  çìccinon  cleiuon  :  pl.  in  both  elements  of  the  compound  (not  given 
in  dictiouaries)  gu-anìi[/laf,  which  occurs  in  Buchedd  Beuno  Sant  in  this 
same  MS.  vol.  Af  i  ednjch  fijn  Tat  y  sydd  yn  ■waniì/jlaf  [Cambro-Brit. 
Saints,  p.  14). 

Kyd-doluryo,  i.e  ,  cyd-ddoluryo.     Not  in  the  dictionaries, 
Dothef.     A  shorter  form  (unrecorded)  of  dyoddef, 

14*.  Tmaythu  ami.  Tmaythu  is  not  in  the  dictionaries,  but  it  seems  to  be 
the  infiuitire  of  a  verb  related  to  ymaith,  which  is  now  used  only  as  au 
adverb  — away,  hence.  Tmaith  itself  was  also  probably  origiually  an  iufinitive. 
It  is  the  Ir.  imcacht  ("  s.f.  walking,  going". — O'Reilly),  just  as  ymdaith  is  the 
Ir.  imtheacht  ("s.f.  progress,  departure",  etc. — O'R.),  and  í« /í/t  the  Ir.  íeacÄí 
{do  theacht,  to  come).  Tmaythu  ami,  then,  would  be  nearly  the  same  as 
ymadael  a  mi. 

Dros  aynaythoch.  D7-os  =  "  ìn  return  for",  a  meaning  not  instauced  by 
Zeuss.  So  ou  the  uext  jjage  (15),  diolch  ythaó  dros  yuaór  rod,  etc. ;  aud  (15^) 
dros  vyyrfheredicr6yd. 

15.  Tmhoylyd  (to  turn  oue's  self)  is  the  colloquial  form  of  ymchwdyd 
or  ymchoelyd.  But  though  a  reflexive,  this  verb  is  commouly  used 
as  a  simple  transitive  verb  (see  exx.  iu  Pugh^).  Tmhoylyd,  'mhoylu, 
are  commonly  used  in  Dimetian  for  "  turning  over":  e.f/.,  'mhoylu 
teisen,  to  turn  over  a  cake  ;  'mhoylu  gwair,  llafur,  to  turn  over  hay,  coru,  in 
harvestiug.  In  Carmarthenshire  it  is  also  used  of  "ploughiug":  "'Mhoylwr 
fjo  leio  w'  i  0  f/rict"  ("  I  am  a  pretty  good  ploughman  for  a  lad"),  the  writer 
once  heard  a  Carmarthenshire  youth  modestly  remark. 

6rth  yderuynnu  (in  putting  him  to  death).  This  nse  of  terfynu  (to  end)  is 
not  noticed  iu  the  dictionaries . 

Aatkyuorant.  Atcyforio  or  adyyforio  is  an  unregistered  compouud  of  ad 
(again,  re-)  and  cyforio  (to  fill  to  the  brim,  to  make  to  overflow).  Cy-for 
seems  to  be  from  cy  aud  mor,  i.e.,  marg.  the  root  of  L.  margo,  etc.  (Fick,^ 
iv.  187),  and  so  would  mean  "even  with  the  brim". 

Aymdinuant,  if  correct,  is  a  form  which  the  writer  does  not  understand. 

Agherediyyon.  Angharedig  means,  passively,  "uuloved";  and,  actively, 
"  unloviug,  unkind". 

15".  Tchwithe  hod  ynwell  genn6ch.  A  somewhat  unusual  construction, 
apparently  au  imitatiou  of  the  Lat.  Historic  Iufiuitive  so-called. 

Gicaharthon,  pl.  of  gwahardd  (prohibitiou)  of  which  Pugh'  gives  only  the 
pl.  gwaharddoedd. 

Tmroyssoch  ych  hod  yn  argl6ythi.  The  use  of  the  posses8Ìve  pron.  here 
before  hod  has  some  slight  analogy  to  the  peculiar  Irish  constructiou  which 
uses  the  poss.  pron.  with  the  predicative  noun  iu  such  sentences  as,  "  He  is  a 
good  mau" — Ir.  Tá  se  'nn  a  dhuine  mhaith  (lit.  he  is  in  his  good  mau). 

16.  Ia6nhau.     An  unregistered  form  =  i«îC7ii  or  iaionu,  to  render  right. 
Gwerthe,  i.e.,  gwerthau,  a  pl.  of  gwerth,  of  which  the  dictionaries  give  uo 

example. 

Ll6c,  i.c.  llu'au,  pl.  nf  Uic ;  usual  pl.  llwon. 


138  A   DESCRIPTION   OF   THE   DAY   OF   JUDGMENT. 

16^.  Offryngau.     The  common  forms  are  offmmi,  offrymau. 
Kyflebaythe  is   doubtless  the   same  as   cyffehjUaethau  (similitudes).       The 
dictionaries  do  not  notice  the  present  meaning — "  examples". 
Tr6y  yhu  haós.     Perhaps  it  should  be  trwy  y  rei  y  bu,  etc. 

17.   Ymgalein  (if  the  right  form,  thelast  four  letters  are  indistinct  in  MS.) 
is  doubtless  the  same  as  ymganlyn,  to  foUow  mutually. 

,  Ambechròyth  is  not  in  the  dictionaries.     It  is  a  compoimd  of  am  and  fech, 
and  may  here  bear  its  strict  meaning — "  mutual  sinfulness". 
Y  benthic  Tcyuan  (the  capital),  lit.  the  entire  loan. 

Tr6y  li6  116,  etc.  (by  means  of  oath,  etc.)  ;  Cf.  liiü  dydd,  liw  nos  (by  day,  by 
night)  ;  Arm.  liou  ("  licence,  permission,  congé"). 

17^.  Setwyr.     Qy.  a  corruption  of  "esecutor"? 

6rth  ymado,  etc.     It  seems  that  something  has  dropped  out  here. 

6rth  gardode  (in  alms).  None  of  the  extracts  in  Zeuss  under  %vrth  (p.  682) 
exactly  illustrate  this  meaning. 

D6yllodrayth  (deceit).  An  unrecorded  abstract  noun  corresponding  to  the 
personal  noun  twyllawdr  (deceiver)  and  the  adj.  twyllodrus  (deceitful). 

Ychwyhunein.  Zeuss  gives  no  example  of  this  form  of  the  second  pers. 
plur.,  though  he  has  ny  hunein  and  ehunein  (Gr.  Celt.^,  p.  408). 

18.  Ymgeuethli6.  The  forms  of  this  verb  given  in  Pugh^  are  ymgyfethl,  to 
be  striving  together  ;  and  ymgyfethlu,  to  struggle  mutually.  Neither  of  these 
meanings  suits  this  passage,  which  demands  rather — "  upbraid,  expostulate 
with". 

Hodi  gwad  (give  denial).  Welsh  constantly  uses  the  root  form  of  the  verb 
in  this  way  as  a  subst.,  and  especially  after  ar,  exactly  corresponding  to  the 
English  forms  with  «-(shortened  form  of  an  =  on),  as  a-fishing,  etc.  So  we 
had  (p.  12-)  ar  duth  (fr.  tuthio,  to  trot),  a-trot.  Similarly,  ar  redeg,  a-running; 
ar  wib  (fr.  gwibio,  to  rove)  e.g.,  myn'd  heibio  ar  wib,  to  pass  a-flying,  on  a  flying 
visit ;  ar  dan,  ar  daen  (fr.  tánu,  taenu,  to  spread),  e.g.,  y  niae  y  gwair  ar  dán, 
the  hay  is  scattered,  i.e  ,  not  in  cocks  or  mows  ;  y  mae  é  ar  nydd  (fr.  nyddu, 
to  twist,  spin)  i  gyd,  it  is  all  a-twist  ;  ar  dro,  awry :  ar  dor  (fr.  tori,  to  cut),  e  g. 
(a  provision  dealer  says  to  a  customer),  y  mae  gen  'i  gosyn  da  ar  dor  ynawr, 
I  have  a  good  cheese  a-cutting,  in  the  course  of  being  cut  now. 

18^.  Poenedig  ;  here  active  in  force. 

Ochuanu.  Also  an  unregistered  form  of  the  same  force  as  ochfaü,  found  on 
p.  42. 

Oir,  i.e.,  ohir,  fr.  gohir,  delay. 


139 


THE   CELTIC    LANGUAGES   IN   RELATION 
TO   OTIIER  AEYAN   TONGUES. 

By  rev.  john  dayies. 


As  the  paper  on  the  Celtic  languages,  published  in  the 
last  number  of  the  Cymmrodor,  has  been  made  the  subject  of 
some  unfavourable  comments,  I  wish  to  ofîer  a  reply  to 
them  (which  shall  be  as  brief  as  possible),  that  the  disputed 
points  may  be,  at  least,  more  clearly  understood. 

The  main  argument  of  the  paper  has  not  been  assailed. 
No  reasons  have  been  given,  for  instance,  why  the  Welsli 
words com  andZ^m  should  be  classed  as  borrowed  words,while 
the  Germ.  Iwrn  and  lein  are  treated  as  unborrowed.  But  I  am 
asked  if  I  hold  that  words  common  to  the  Sanskrit  and 
Celtic  languages  may  not,  in  any  case,  have  been  borrowed 
by  the  latter  from  the  Latin  ?  This  I  have  not  undertaken 
to  show.  I  contend  only  that  such  words  ought  to  be  re- 
garded  as  derived  from  a  common  Aryan  stock,  unless  the 
contrary  can  be  proved  historically  or  otherwise.  I  have 
been  referred  to  the  eminent  German  philologist,  Windisch, 
and  I  accept  the  reference.  He  notices  a  derivation  of  the 
Irish  caille,  a  veü,  from  the  Lat.  ^JttlHum ;  and,  ai'ter  pointing 
out  that  the  connection  is  not  probable,  he  adds,  "  Why  may 
not  the  Ir.  caille  be  a  genuine  Irisli  word  ?"  (Warum  soll  ir. 
caille  nicht  ein  echt  irisches  wort  sein  ? — Kuhn's  Beiträge, 
etc,  viii,  18.)  I  ask  the  same  question  with  regard  to  the 
words  which  I  have  discussed.  Why  must  they  be  neces- 
sarily  treated  as  borrowed  words  because  they  bear  a  resem- 


140  THE  CELTIC  LANGUAGES  IN  RELATION  TO 

blance,  often  a  very  remote  one,  to  Latin  forms  ?  Is  it  sonnd 
philology,  for  instance,  to  assiime  tlmt  the  W.  cimn  and  the 
Bret.  coml  mnst  be  borrowed  words,  and  to  connect  them 
with  the  Lat.  concava  as  their  source  ? 

The  main  object  of  Windisch's  paper  is,  however,  to  prove 
that  at  some  nndefined  period  the  letter  2>  vanished  from  the 
Celtic  languages,  and  that  when  it   re-appeared,  at  a  later 
time,  it  was  used  only  in  borrowed  words,  or  as  the  represen- 
tative  of  an  older  k  for  kv  or  qv.     I  read  his  paper  when  it 
appeared    in    Kuhn's   Bciträge,    but    was     not    convinced 
by  his  arguments.      It  is   certainly  true   that  a  primitive 
^  has  disappeared  from   many  Celtic  words,  and    that    in 
their  modern  form  this  letter  often  represents  an  older  h  or 
kv,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  an  Indo-Germanic  'p  has  not 
been  retained  in  any  genuine  Celtic  words.     Mr.  Whitley 
Stokes  maintains  that  it  has  been  retained  in  some  instances. 
I  have  read  the  paper  in  the  Revue  Celtique  (vol.  ii,  p.  337), 
in  which  the  writer  coutroverts  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Stokes  ; 
but  I  fail  to  see  that  the  Ir.  GaeL  'pailt  (plenteous)   can  be 
disposed  of  by  suggesting  that  it  may  be  borrowed  from  the 
Eng.  word  ijlcnty,  or  that  if  the  root  ^j'ö'Ä;  may  be  assumed 
for  the    Indo-European  mother  tongue,  yet  "  for  the  Italo- 
Celtic   branch  one   must   postulate   qvaqv   (kak)''.     This   is 
assuming  as  true  what  has  not  been  proved.     The  German 
philologist  rick   holds  a  contrary  opinion.      I  quote  froni 
the   Verg.    Wört.   clcr   Indogcrm.    Sprachen,   3rd   ed.,    1874, 
"pak,  kochen,  reifen,  ....  lat.  coquo,  sup.  coctum,  kochen 
(fiir  poquo    durch  eine  Art  Assimilation,  wie   quinque   für 
pinque.  s.  pankan).^'     "  Corn.  peber,  pistor,  popei,  pistrinuni ; 
cymrisch  popuryes,  jjistrix  ;  ksl.  peka,  kochen.  vgl.  skr.  pac', 
kochen,  pac'a,  kochend"  (i,  133  ;  ii,  155).     Professor  Curtius 
thinks  it  is  doubtful  whether  kak  or  pak  is  the  original  form, 
but  he  adds,  "  auf  die  Form  ^;«ŵ  gehen  deutlich  die  sans- 
kritischen  und  slawischen  Formen  ziirück,  ebenso  die  ältere 


OTIIER  ARYAN  TONGUES.  141 

Priisensfonn  7reWÉt)  =  7re/cjû)"  {Grundzuge^  409).  Professor 
Ascoli  suggests  tliat  botli  forms  may  have  existed  simultane- 
ously  from  tlie  period  of  original  unity  {Corsi  di  Glottoloyia, 
p.  78).  Professor  Fr.  Müller  maiutains  tliat  tlie  Sans.  'pan- 
cau  (five,  Litli.  pe.nlci,  W.  puìnp)  is  connected  witli  Sans. 
^Mnldi  (series),  and  was  priraarily  pancant,  standing  in  a 
row,  i.e.,  the  five  fingers  {Beiträge,  ii,  898).  It  must  then  be 
the  primitive  form. 

The  results  of  these  different  theories  may  be  seen  in  the 

varying  explanations  of  the  Lat.  jpars,  W.  parth.     Ascoli  con- 

nects  a  primitive  ^;«í'í  with  Sans.  ^mí,  to  cleave  {Corsi,  etc, 

p.  80).     Fick  infers  an  Aryan  j9ar  as  the  source  of  the  Lat. 

pars,  and  refers  to  the  Sans.  par  (prî)  to  spend  ( lVört.^  1,G64). 

In  the  Eevue  Celtigiie  (vol.  ii,  333)  iheW. parlli  is  assumed  lo 

be  derived  from  spart,  for  sqvart,  and  to  be  connected  with 

an  Aryan  skard,  to  break,  and  Sans.  hhad.     I  will  not  here 

discuss  the  question  whether  Ascoli  or  Fick  has  chosen  the 

best  Sans.  relative,  but  this  may  be  said,  that  they  have  re- 

ferred  to  living  words,  and  that  the  assumed  root,  sqvart,  is 

whoUy  imaginary.     It  may  be  noted  that  the  letter  r  is  sup- 

posed  to  have  fallen  from  the  Sans.  words  jj'cü/  and  hhad,  aud 

yet  a  suggestion  of  this  kind  on  my  part,  iu  another  instance, 

has   been   treated   as    an    impossibility.      Few   philological 

changes   are  more  common  (compare   E.  speak  and  Germ. 

sp)rcchen).     Professor  Pictet  has  compared  the  W.  pìaUii  and 

other  words  with  corresponding  forms  in  Irish.     For  this  he 

has  been  assailed  by  Windisch  aud  Ebel  {Beitr.  viii,  25 ;  iii, 

278),  but  until  it  has  been  proved  that  pallu  is  ouly  a  moderu 

form,  his  conclusions  cannot  justly,  I  thinlc,  be  condemned  as 

unsound.     Windisch  states  that  the  Ir.  stem  alla,  in  di-all 

(declinatio)  is  from  a  root  palla,  whicli  he  connects  with  the 

Lith.  p)ulu  (to  fall),  and  Old  ìs.^falla  (to  fall,  to  fail ;  cadere, 

deficere,  EgiUson. — {Bcitr.  viii,  2).    This  is  identical  wilh  the 

W.  pallu  (deficere,  Davies). 


142  THE   CELTIC   LA.NGUAGES. 

I  can  only  offer  a  few  remarks  on  the  words  ffoll,  mal,  and 
cocw,  wliicli  have  been  questioned.  I  am  aware  that  Dr. 
Owen  Pughe  is  not  a  very  safe  guide,  but  "  ffoll,  a  broad 
squab/'  is  found  in  Pryse's  edition  of  his  work  and  in  Spur- 
rell's  dictionary.  It  is  adopted  by  Whitley  Stokes,  or  his 
friend  Professor  Siegfried  [Bcitr.,  vii,  398).  Davies  has 
"  Ffolen,  chmis",  and  this  implies  a  root  ffol  or  ffoll,  with  a 
similar  meaning  to  hitU  in  the  Eng.  huttoch.  Mal  must  have 
meant  originally  small.  Eichards  (1759)  has  "  mal,  the  same 
as  ysmcila,  light"  (levis,  inconstans,  Davies).  "We  may  com- 
pare  the  Sans.  laghu,  light  (leger)  and  small  (petit)  (Burnouf). 
rick  infers  an  Aryan  mailu,  small,  and  refers  to  the  Lith. 
mailu-s,  smallness,  and  to  the  0.  Slav.  malu,  small.  Ysmala 
denotes  inal  as  its  root,  and  levis  in  the  moral,  requires  the 
primary  sense.  Cocw.  The  root  here  is  coc  or  cocc,  and  is 
found  in  cogiürn,  "  a  little  crab  or  wilding,  a  sort  of  sea-snail, 
a  shell,  as  of  a  snail,  etc;  also  a  little  stack  of  corn" 
(Eichards).  Lhuyd  has  "kokkos,  a  cochle''  {Arch^ologia,  285). 
(Cf.  Bret.  hoh,  the  holly-berry ;  and  Sans.  kucha,  the  female 
breast;  both  from  roundness  of  form.)  Coc  or  cocc  is  a 
genuine  Celtic  root^  with  a  meaning  that  is  clearly  indicated, 
and  this  is  all  that  my  argument  requires. 


ERRATA. 

Cymmrodor,  Vo1.  III,  Part  I. 

Page  10,  line  4,  for  —  put  =. 
Page  12,  for  layäme,  read  layänii. 
Page  14,  for  wrinfan,  read  wrin.ijan. 
Page  14  (note),  for  dhuti-m,  read  dhutim, 
Page  16  (note),  for  net.  read  nuinher  or  series. 
Pages  19  and  20,  îor  j^ësF,  read  pJs'i. 
Pages  (note),  íor  patt-Tr-a,  read  pat-ira. 
Page  24,  line  10,  for  ìvitk,  read  to. 
Page  33,  for  lcarhari,  read  harharT. 
Page  33  (note),  for  lcashtä,  read  hashta. 
Page  43,  for  haläs'd,  read  kalaíâ. 


143 


THE    EISTEDÜFODAU    OF    1880. 


TíiE  year  1880  was  a  memorable  one  in  the  histoiy  of  Eis- 
teddfodau.  The  National  Eisteddfod  was  held  at  Carnarvon 
on  a  scale  unprecedented  for  many  years,  and  a  second,  of  no 
inconsiderable  dimensions,  was  celebrated  by  South  Wales  on 
its  own  account. 

The  latter  was  opened  at  Swansea,  on  the  4th  of  August, 
under  the  presidency  of  the  Yenerable  Archdeacon  Grifíiths ; 
and  continued,  on  the  fifth,  under  that  of  Mr.  J.  Jones 
Jenkins,  the  Mayor  of  Swansea ;  and,  on  the  sixth,  under 
that  of  j\Ir.  Gwilym  Williams,  of  Mishin  ]Manor ;  Mr.  Hussey 
YÌYÌan,  M.P.,  who  had  been  expected  to  preside  on  the  first 
day,  being  detained  in  London  by  the  sitting  of  Parliament. 
Over  tlie  Gorsedd  ceremonies,  which  were  carried  out  with 
due  completeness,  Gurnos  (Ptev.  J.  Gurnos  Jones),  the  Eev. 
Gwilym  Glanffrwd  Thomas,  and  loan  Arfon  (John  0. 
Grififìths,  Esq.)  presided.  The  conductors  in  the  Pavilion 
were  Llew  Llwyfo,  the  Piev.  E.  Edmunds,  of  Swansea,  and 
the  Rev.  J.  Ossian  Davies. 

The  chair  of  Glamorgan,  with  a  prize  of  £20,  was  offered 
for  the  best  ode  in  commemoration  of  Sir  Rowland  Hill,  and 
honourably  won  by  Mr.  Thomas  E.  Davies  of  Pontypridd 
(Dewi  Wyn  o  Essyllt).  The  chief  choral  prize  of  £100  was 
not  awarded  in  its  entirety,  but  one  of  half  the  amount  was 
conferred  on  the  best  of  the  three  competing  choirs,  that  of 
Hirwaun,  under  the  direction  of  Gwilym  Cynon.  A  lesser 
choral  prize,  of  £20  and  a  gold  medal,  fell  to  the  choir  of  the 
Tabernacle,  INIorriston,  who  were  led  by  Mr.  D.  Franks ;  and 
Tredegar,  under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Tom  Hardy,  carried  off 


144  THE   EISTEDDFODAU    OF    1880. 

tlie  prize  in  tlie  brass-band  competition.  Eos  Dyfed  and  Lis 
party  were  successfiil  in  tlie  contest  in  quartette  singing; 
Thomas  Eicliards  and  party  in  the  execution  of  a  trio ;  the 
"  Maesteg  Minstrels"  and  a  party  from  Ystalyfera  gained 
each  a  prize  of  fìve  guineas  in  part-singing. 

Two  prizes,  of  £25  and  of  £10,  were  awarded  to  Mr.  Beriah 
Evans  of  Gwynfe,  Llangadoc,  for  the  two  best  serial  stories, 
iUustrating  Welsli  life  and  character.  It  wiU  be  remembered 
tliat  Mr.  Evans  was  successful  in  a  similar  competition  at 
Cardiff  in  1879.  Mr.  Grifûth  Jones  of  Glanmenai,  Carnarvon- 
shire,  gained  a  prize  of  £20  for  his  essay  on  "Eminent  Welsh- 
men  of  this  Century" ;  Mr.  W.  T.  Rees  of  Llanelly  (Alaw 
ddu)  one  of  similar  amount  for  an  anthem  in  memory  of 
the  late  Ambrose  Lloyd.  A  prize  of  five  guineas  was  con- 
ferred  on  Miss  Parry  of  Blaenportli,  Cardigan,  for  her  Welsh 
essay  on  the  "  Advantages  of  Eeady  Money" ;  one  of  similar 
value  (the  Mayor's  prize)  awarded  to  Mr.  John  Howells  of 
Cowbridge  for  an  English  essay  on  the  origin  and  progress  of 
free  libraries ;  and  a  third,  of  equal  amount,  to  a  competitor 
whose  real  name  did  not  appear,  for  one  on  the  cultivation 
of  the  soils  of  Glamorgan.  Gwilym  Gwent,  who  stiU  dates 
from  America,  again  carried  off  a  prize  of  five  guineas  for  the 
composition  of  a  glee ;  while  the  well-known  composer  Mr. 
E.  S.  Hughes,  of  London,  gained  the  three  guinea  prize 
offered  by  Eos  Morlais  for  a  tenor  song,  and  the  similar  one 
proposed  by  Mr.  Lncas  Williams  for  a  scena  for  a  bass  voice. 
The  successful  scena  was  rendered  on  the  spot  by  jNIr.  Lucas 
Williams  with  much  applause. 

A  prize  of  fìve  guineas  was  awarded  to  Mr.  D.  C.  Harris 
for  an  elegiac  poem  to  the  late  Mrs.  Eosser  of  Pontypridd, 
and  one  of  three  guineas  to  the  Eev.  T.  J.  Morgau  for  ten 
Welsh  satirical  verses,  "  Diraddwyr  y  Cymry". 

Eor  two  important  prizes,  amongst  otliers,  no  competitors 
appeared.     The  committee  had  offered  £25  for  an  essay  on 


THE    EISTEDDFODAU    OF    1880.  1-15 

"  Tlie  Etymology  of  Place-names,  in  its  Relation  to  Etlino- 
logy,  iîi  so  far  as  it  iUustrates  the  Preliistoric  Migrations  of 
the  Kelts",  and  ]\Ir.  Hussey  Vivian  ten  guineas  for  a  "  His- 
tory  of  tbe  Literature  of  Monmouthshire  and  Glamorgan." 
We  would  venture  to  suggest  the  desirability  of  a  longer 
notice  being  given  when  subjects  which  require  such  wide 
research  for  their  adequate  treatment  are  proposed.  A  prize 
of  £10  and  a  gohl  medal  had  also  been  offered  for  a  Welsh 
poem  to  lolo  Morganwg,  Lut  the  adjudicators  declined  to 
niake  tbe  award.  These  three  competitions,  it  was  announced 
at  the  concluding  Gorsedd,  will  be  proposed  again,  at  Merthyr 
Tydfil,  in  1881,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  not  again  in  vain. 

No  Eisteddfod  is  now  complete  without  an  address  in 
Welsh  by  the  Oxford  Professor  of  Celtic.  Professor  Ehŷs  took 
for  his  subject  on  this  occasion,  the  origin  of  the  musical 
mode  of  expression.  Passing  on  to  discuss  the  present  posi- 
tion  of  the  art  in  Wales,  he  earnestly  urged  the  rising  poets  of 
the  country  to  turn  their  attention  to  the  legends  of  their 
native  land,  and,  by  dressiug  them  in  appropriate  verse,  to 
afford  composers  a  national  basis  for  their  music.  For  these 
addresses  of  the  learned  professor's,  Wales  is  much  indebted, 
as  well  for  the  originality  and  suggestiveness  of  their  matter, 
as  for  the  standard  of  correct  and  vigorous  Welsh  which  they 
embody. 

The  audience  at  Swansea  had  also  the  pleasure  of  hearing 
the  animated  speech  in  whicli  the  veteran  composer,  Mr. 
Brinley  Richards,  pointed  out  tlie  advantages  which  the 
Eisteddfod  had  been  the  means  of  conferring  on  the  art  he 
represented,  and  a  stirriug  oration  in  Welsh  by  the  presi- 
dent  of  the  Gorsedd,  besides  the  excellent  presidential 
addresses. 

The  attendance  at  the  Eisteddfod  left  nuthing  to  be  desired. 
On  the  first  day  it  was  reported  that  nearly  24,000  persons 
had  passed  the   turnstiles ;  and  the  greatest   interest   pre- 

VOL.  IV.  L 


146  THE   înSTEDDFODAU    OF    1880. 

vailed  from  first  to  last.  Tlie  Swansea  Orchestral  and  Choral 
societies  were  a  promiuent  feature  in  the  evening  concerts. 
Handel's  "  Samsou"  was  rendered  ou  the  second  evening. 

Tlie  ISrational  Eisteddfod  was  opened  in  the  permanent 
pavilion  lately  erected  in  Carnarvon,  on  the  24th  of  August, 
and  continued  through  the  three  succeeding  days.  The  court- 
yard  of  the  castle  added  impressiveness  to  the  rites  of  the 
Gorsedd,  which,  under  Clwydfardd's  auspices,  was  held  there 
each  morning,  the  president  of  the  day  being  subsequently 
conducted  thence  in  state  to  the  pavilion.  On  the  opening 
day,  Sir  Wathin  WiUiams  Wynn,  "  Prince  in  Wales",  appro- 
priately  occupied  the  president's  seat.  On  the  subsequent 
days  it  was  filled  by  Major  Cornwallis  West,  by  Mr.  Watkin 
Williams  (now  Sir  Watlcin  Williams),  and  by  Sir  Llewellyn 
Turner.  Mr.  J.  H.  Puleston,  wdio  had  been  expected  to 
preside,  was  unable  to  attend.  Llew  Llwyfo  and  Tanymariau 
by  turns  wielded  the  conductor's  lâton. 

The  Bardic  Chair,  witli  a  prize  of  £20  attached,  proposed 
for  the  best  mudl  on  "  Athrylith,"  was  conferred  on  the  Eev. 
B.  Joseph  of  Colwyn  Bay.  In  the  chief  remaining  poetical 
competitions,  Mr.  H.  T.  Davies  of  Brynllaeth  gained  the 
prize  (£5  and  a  silver  medal)  for  a  cyyjydcl  on  "  Health" ; 
the  Eev.  Mr.  Eoberts,  rector  of  Llangwm  (Elis  Wyn  o  Wyr- 
fai),  £20  and  a  silver  crown,  for  a  poem  on  "  The  Triumph  of 
the  Cross" ;  the  Eev.  J.  Ceulanydd  Williams  of  Talysarn, 
£10  and  a  silver  medal,  for  a  poem,  "  The  Two  Patriots",  in 
memory  of  the  late  Eev.  Eobert  Jones  and  tlie  late  Eev. 
T.  James,  F.S.A. ;  and  the  Eev.  J.  0.  Grifíìth  (loan  Arfon) 
four  guineas  and  a  silver  medal  for  a  pastoral  poem. 

For  his  glee,  "  Exile  from  Cambria",  the  prize  of  £5  and  a 
silver  medal  was  awarded  to  Mr.  C.  H.  Eenshaw  of  Eochferry ; 
and  to  Prof,  0.  H.  Evans  of  Tanlan,  Newborough,  Anglesea, 
one  of  seven-and-a-half  guineas  and  a  silver  medal  for  his 
quintett  for  string  instruments. 


THE    EISTEDDFODAU    OF    1880.  147 

The  great  clioral  prize,  of  £150  and  a  gold  niedal,  was 
carried  off  by  Birkenhead  from  the  two  choirs  of  Llan- 
golleu  and  Acrefair,  tliemselves  of  unexceptionable  merit, 
and  higlily  praised  by  the  adjudicators.  The  pieces  selected 
for  the  competition  were,  "  See  from  his  post"  (Handel)  and 
"  While  everlasting  ages  roll"  (lìossini).  In  pronouncing  the 
award,  Dr.  Stainer  took  occasion  to  express  his  definite  con- 
clusiou  that  abundance  of  real  musical  talent  existed  in 
Wales,  and  liis  hope  that  opportunities  for  its  full  develop- 
ment  would  soon  be  provided.  ]Mr.  W.  Parry  was  the  leader 
of  the  successful  choir. 

In  the  brass  band  competition,  Llanrug  was  successful, 
and  gained  the  prize  of  £20  and  a  gold  medal.  The  excellent 
playing  of  their  leader,  ]\Ir.  J.  E.  Tidswell,  was  much  com- 
mended.  Carnarvon  won  the  ten  guineas  and  silver  medal 
offered  for  string  bands,  The  triple  harp  contest  derived  a 
sad  interest  from  the  fact  that  the  victor,  ]\Ir.  Owen  Jones 
of  Arthog,  is  blind.  Miss  Griffith,  daughter  of  Mr.  W.  Ll. 
Griffith,  won  the  harmonium  offered  for  pianoforte  playiug  by 
competitors  ünder  twenty  years  of  age,  and  extra  prizes  were 
given  by  Mr.  Love  Jones  Parry  to  two  other  young  ladies, 
Miss  Richards  and  Miss  Grace  Owen,  of  lîhyl.  Miss  Welton, 
a  granddaughter  of  Owain  Gwyrfai,  the  antif[uarian,  gained 
a  prize  of  3  guineas  for  a  contralto  solo.  Mr.  E.  T.  Price  of 
Llanidloes  bore  the  palm  for  harmonium-playing ;  aud  j\Ir. 
Martin  Sullivan  of  Carnarvon  excelled  on  the  cornet. 

Some  important  subjects  had  been  proposed  for  prose 
compositions.  For  a  translation  of  Gwalchmai's  poems  into 
English,  a  prize  of  £10  and  a  silver  medal  was  conferred  on 
Mr.  Eeynolds,  son  of  Nalhan  Dyfed.  Thirty  guineas  and  a 
silver  medal  were  offered  by  gentlemen  coimected  with  the 
mining  intere.st  for  an  essay  on  "The  Metalliferous  Deposits 
of  Flint  and  Denbigh",  and  awarded  by  the  adjudicators  to 
Mr.  D.  C.  Davies,  F.G.S.,  of  Oswestry.     For  a  Welsh  essay 


148  THE   EISTEDDFODAU    OF    1880. 

on  the  question,  "  Is  the  Enthusiasm  connected  with  Music 
in  Wales  conducive  to  the  Mental  Development  of  the 
Nation?"  £5  and  a  silver  medal  to  Mr.  W.  E.  Owen  of 
Liverpool.  For  one  in  the  same  language,  on  "The  Folhlore 
of  Carnarvonshire",  £10  and  a  silver  medal  to  Mr.  Evan 
Williams  of  Carnarvon ;  and  for  a  Welsh  handbook  on  "  The 
Chemistry  of  Common  Things",  a  similar  prize  to  Mr.  Eichard 
Morgan  of  Aberystwith.  The  £20  prize  proposed  for  an 
essay  on  "Education  in  Wales"  was  not  adjudicated,  but 
half  that  sum,  with  a  medal,  awarded  to  Mr.  M.  E.  jNIorris  of 
Minffordd. 

Mr,  W.  G.  Shrubsoll  of  Bangor  gained  the  prize  of  fifteen 
guineas  and  a  silver  medal  for  a  water-colour  drawing, 
Mr.  R.  Lloyd  Joues  of  Pisgah  that  for  architectural  drawing, 
and  Miss  Doidge  of  Aberdyfi  that  for  crayon  drawing. 

In  a  slate-splitting  contest,  Mr.  J.  R.  Jones  and  Mr.  R.  W. 
Rowlands,  of  Llanberis,  divided  the  two  first  prizes  of  seven 
guineas  and  three  guineas. 

Besides  the  able  speeches  delivered  by  the  presidents  in 
opening  each  day's  proceedings,  an  interesting  address  on 
the  triple  harp  was  given  by  Mr.  John  Tliomas  (Pencerdd 
Gwalia) ;  Mr.  Lewis  Morris  spoke  briefly  on  the  merits  of  the 
Eisteddfod ;  and  the  iudefatigable  Professor  Phŷs,  on  the 
legends  and  mythology  of  Carnarvonshire,  was  no  less  in- 
structive  and  suggestive  than  in  the  Pavilion  at  Swansea. 

Pererin,  Alltud  Eifion,  and  the  Eev.  Eowland  Williams 
(Hwfa  Môn)  also  delivered  addresses. 

In  the  course  of  the  first  day's  proceedings,  a  handsome 
enamelled  slate  table,  the  work  and  gift  of  Mr.  Owen 
of  Carnarvon,  was  presented  by  Mr.  Love  Jones  Parry,  in 
the  name  of  the  committee,  to  Captain  Moger,  of  H.ÄI.  train- 
ing  ship  Clio. 

A  concert  was  held,  as  usual,  eacli  eveuing.  In  that  on 
the  26th,  the  Swansea  Yalley  Orpheus  Society  formed  the 
conspicuous  feature. 


THE   EISTEDDFODAU   OF    1880.  149 

Proclamation  of  ^Merthyr  Tyclfil  as  the  place  of  the  Eistedd- 
fod  of  1881  was  made  at  the  Gorsedd  oii  the  conclading  day. 

TiiE  Cymmrodorion  Section. 

Under  this  title  a  series  of  meetings  were  held  by  the 
Society  of  Cymmrodorion  in  the  Giiildhall,  Carnarvon,  in 
counectiou  with  the  National  Eisteddfod,  on  the  evenin£r  of 
August  23rd,  and  on  the  tliree  following  days. 

In  the  unavoidabl6  absence  of  Mr.  Lewis  IMorris,  the  presi- 
dent  of  the  section,  the  chair  was  occupied  by  ]\Ir.  Hugh 
Owen. 

The  following  papers  were  read  and  discussed  : 

"  On  the  Present  and  Future  of  Wales"  (President's 
Inaugural  Address).     By  Mr.  Lewis  Morris.^ 

"  On  Higher  and  Intermediate  Education  in  Wales." 
By  Mr.  Hugh  Owen. 

"On  Music  in  Wales."  By  Mr.  David  Jenkins, 
Mus.  Bac. 

"  On  Eisteddfod  Pteform."  By  Mr.  Hugh  Owen,  and 
by  Mrs.  Thomas  of  Llandegai.^ 

"  On  Jesus  College  and  the  Meyrick  Fund."  By  Mr. 
Owen  Owen  of  Oswestry. 

"  On  Temperance  Public-houses  in  Xürth  Wales."  By 
Mr.  Henry  Lewis. 

"  On  Higher  Education  of  Girls."  By  Mrs.  Peters  of 
Bala. 

"  On  the  Design  for  the  Cymmrodorion  Medal."  By 
Mr.  Joseph  Edwards. 

1  This  addre.ss  is  printed  in  an  earlier  portion  of  the  present  number 
of  Y  Cymnirodor. 

2  Discussion  on  these  papers  was  taken  at  great  length,  and  resulted 
in  the  appointment  of  a  joint  committee  of  Bards  and  Cymmrodorion, 
and  ultimately  in  tlie  formation  of  the  "National  Eisteddfol  Associa- 
tion". 


150 


Eeln'eUiö  of  ^SooIiö, 


Y  Mabinogion  Cymreig  :  sef  chwedlau  rhamantus  yr  hen 
Gymry.  Yn  yr  hen  Gymraeg  a'r  Gymraeg  bresenol. 
Liverpool :  Cylioeddwyd  gan  Isaac  Foulees,  18,  Bruns- 
wick  Street.     1880.     [First  vol.] 

We  have  here  to  call  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  what 
\ve  have  long  earnestly  desired  to  see — an  edition  of  tlie 
Mabinogion  specially  adapted  for  the  Welsh  "  general 
reader".  Mr.  Foulhes  has  already  deserved  well  of  his 
countrymen  hy  his  efforts  to  place  within  tlie  reach  of  all 
the  works  of  some  of  our  best  writers.  We  may  instance 
his  cheap,  but  neat  and  handy,  editions  of  the  works  of 
GoronM-y  Owen,  Alun,  Dafydd  ab  Gwilym,  and  others.  He 
has  not  been  a  prolific  publisher,  but  in  everything  that  he 
has  issued  he  has  supplied  a  want.  The  present  is  his  most 
ambitious  and,  we  are  told,  his  last  venture,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  his  enterprise  may  be  rewarded  with  the  encour- 
agement  it  deserves. 

The  history  of  these  remarhable  tales  has  been  a  strange 
one.  Standing  apart  as  the  one  work  in  our  literature  that 
has  powerfully  influenced  European  thought,  it  niight 
reasonably  have  been  expected  that  they  would  have  enjoyed 
a  popularity  proportionate  to  their  worth,  and  have  been  in 
everybody's  hands,  studied  and  prized  by  all  as  the  rarest 
treasure  iu  the  language.  Unhappily  their  fate  lias  been  far 
different.  For  many  a  long  year  they  remained  known  only 
to  a  few  scholars,  and  entrusted  to  the  precarious  heeping  of 
a  manuscript.  Something  over  fifty  years  ago  Carnhuanawc 
mournfully    expressed   his    apprehension   that    they   might 


liEYIEWÖ    OF   BOOKS.  151 

never  see  tlie  liglit,  biit  niiglit  at  any  moment,  through  some 
accident,  be  lost  to  the  world  for  ever.  Fortunately  the  fears 
of  that  distiiiguished  scholar  and  thorough  patriot  were  not 
fulfilled.  At  last — thanks  to  the  taste,  learning,  and  munifi- 
cence  of  Lady  Guest — they  were  issued  fi'om  the  Llandovery 
press  in  a  form  that  reflected  equal  credit  upon  the  editor 
and  the  publisher,  and  went  far  to  make  amends  for  centuries 
of  neglect.  Further  honour  awaited  them  :  taken  up  by 
Zeuss,  they  formed  a  great  storehouse  of  illustration  for  his 
work,  the  Welsh  portion  of  which  may  be  not  unaptly  de- 
scribed  as  a  Grammar  of  the  Mabinogion. 

Still  the  tales  remained,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  inac- 
cessible  to  the  Welsh  reader,  and  a  popular  edition  was 
urgently  needed.  The  present  issue  is  intended  to  meet  that 
want.  The  plan  of  the  work  is  indicated  by  the  title.  We 
have  first  a  reprint  of  the  text,  and  then^  witli  a  separate 
j)aginatiou,  a  modernised  version  accompanied  with  notes. 
The  first  volume  contains  five  of  the  tales,  viz.,  those 
bearing  the  names  of  Math  vab  jMathonwy,  Peredur  ab 
Efrawc,  larlles  y  Ffynnawn,  Geraint  ab  Erbin,  and  Rulhwch 
ac  Olwen. 

It  is  right  to  say  that  this  edition  will  not  be  of  much 
value  for  critical  purposes,  as  the  text  is  not  printed  with 
suíficient  accuracy  in  minor  matters.  We  should  also  have 
been  glad  if  a  more  systematic  attempt  had  been  made  to 
explain  tlie  language  in  all  its  details  to  the  modern  reader. 
Finally,  the  work  is  issued  in  4to.,  to  which  we  should  have 
preferred  crown  8vo.  or  12mo.  as  more  handy;  but  this  is  a 
matter  of  individual  taste  of  no  moment. 

We  are  often  reminded  that  the  works  of  a  certaiu  Ensrlish 

O 

author  have  been  styled  the  "  well  of  English  undefiled'^; 
with  much  more  appropriateness  might  the  Mabinofjion  be 
called  "  the  Aven  of  uiidefiled  Cymraeg",  and  as  such  we 
would  most  strongly  recommend  them  to  the  patient  study 


152  REYIEWS    OF    BOOKS. 

of  all  wlio  wish  to  cultivate  a  pure  and  idioiuatic  Welsh 
style. 


Cydymaith  y  Cymro:  neu  Lawlyfr  i'r  Gymraeg.  Gan  y 
Parch  E.  T.  Dayies,  B.A.,  Ficer  Eglwys  Dewi  Sant, 
Llynlleifiad,  etc,  etc. 

This  little  work  is  inteuded  as  a  guide  to  young  writers,  and 
the  fact  that  the  present  is  the  third  edition  seems  to  imply 
that  it  has  been  found  useful.  It  was  compiled  originally 
for  some  Eisteddfod,  and  the  haste  with  which  all  composi- 
tions  for  these  competitions  have  to  be  written,  must 
probably  account  for  that  absence  of  a  definite  plan  in  the 
work,  which  has  rendered  necessary  the  addition  of  a  chapter 
of  IMiscellanea,  another  of  Addenda,  and  two  Appendices. 
But  the  little  book  contains  a  large  amount  of  useful  informa- 
tion ;  the  writer's  judgment  is  generally  sound ;  and  we 
should  be  glad  to  find  the  "  Cydymaitli"  extensively  used  by 
that  not  too  well-informed  class  who  write  to  our  newspapers 
and  cheaper  magazines  to  the  grievous  disfìgurement  of  our 
old  language.  It  would  have  been  better,  however,  if  the 
author  had  not  undertaken  the  responsibility  of  perpetuat- 
ing  the  notion  that  the  Welsh  eto  is  derived  from  Latin  etiam. 


NoTES  OF  A  TouR  IN  Brittany.    By  S.  Prideaux  Tregelles, 
LL.D.     Edinburgh  :  Johnstone,  Hunter,  and  Co. 

This  unpretending  little  volume — tlie  scope  and  character  of 
which  are  suffìciently  indicated  by  its  title — will  be  read 
with  great  pleasure  by  anyone  interested  in  things  Cymric 
generally,  or  in  Brittany  particularly.  The  author  is  knovvn 
to  the  world  at  large  as  a  distinguished  biblical  scholar  and 
editor  of  the  Greek  Testament ;  but  to  many  of  our  readers 
he  will  be  further  known  as  a  Cornishman,  who  during  a 
temporary  residence  in  South  Wales  became  an  enthusiastic 


REYIEWtí   Oí"   BOOKS.  15 


Q 


student  of  Welsli,  wliich  he  learnt  with  a  thoroughness 
equalled  by  very  few,  foreigners  or  natives.  Eeaders  of  the 
Brython  especially  wiU  remeniber  with  pleasure  his  interest- 
ing  letters  iu  that  periodical. 

The  "  Notes"  are  quite  plain  and  simple,  and  very  different 
from  the  work  of  a  professional  bookmaker ;  hence  they  are 
much  more  satisfactory  than  similar  works  of  a  more  pre- 
tentious  character  which  we  have  read.  Dr.  Tregelles  did 
Dot  go  to  Brittany  in  order  that  he  might  write  a  book 
about  it  on  his  return ;  he  went  to  see  a  country  and  a  people 
that  had  long  interested  him,  and  with  whose  history  he  was 
already  familiar.  He  simply  tells  us  the  way  he  and  his 
sister,  who  accompanied  him,  went,  and  wliat  they  saw, 
adding  as  much  of  historical  detail  as  is  required  to  make 
his  references  intelligible  to  the  general  reader.  He  gives 
an  interesting  shetch  of  the  early  close  connection  between 
tlie  Continental  Britons  and  their  cousins  in  Wales  and 
Cornwall,  and  has  an  occasional  happy  note  iUustrating 
points  of  contact  in  the  dialects. 

Two  characteristics  of  the  author  come  out  very  clearly  in 
the  "  Notes" — his  strong  yet  sober  enthusiasm  for  everything 
Celtic  (or  perhaps  we  sliould  rather  say  Cymric,  as  it  is  in 
Wales,  Cornwall,  and  Brittany  that  he  shows  himself  chieíly 
interested),  and  his  uncompromising  Protestantism.  He 
appears  to  have  been  quite  pleased  to  íìnd  that  the  in- 
habitants  of  Eennes  were  not  content  with  saying  that  they 
were  Bretons,  but  would  add  "  et  non  pas  Français",  to 
prevent  any  possible  misconception.  But  the  religious  state 
of  "  our  cousins"  pained  him  greatly.  Of  the  strong  feeling 
against  Protestantism  he  gives  some  striking  illustrations. 
In  a  Breton  book,  published  at  Landerneau  in  1846,  the 
author  speahs  "  of  a  great  heavy  Huguenot  book,  called  the 
Bible"  (p.  118)  ;  and  in  another  book,  the  passage  in  Mark  x, 
33,  is  rendered,  "  And  they  shall  deliver  him  into  the  hands 


154  EEYIEWS    OF   BOOKS. 

of  tlie  Hugueìiots'  (p.  139).  But  altogether  be  declares 
Liiuself  to  have  beeu  greatly  pleased  with  the  people  of 
whom  he  Avas  so  sympathetic  and  appreciative  an  observer. 


The  Eebecca  Eioter  :  a  Stoey  of  Killay  Life.  By 
E.  A.  DiLLWYN.  2  vols.  Loudoü,  Macmülau  and  Co. 
1880. 

The  period  of  negiect  and  distress  iu  which  "  Eebecca"  made 
ber  rough  protest  against  the  anomalies  of  the  existiug 
Turnj)ike  Act,  has  been  selected  by  Miss  Dillwyn  for  illustra- 
tiou.  The  hero  of  her  little  shetch,  dying  in  Australia  uuder 
senteuce  for  homicide  connected  with  the  riots,  tells  tlie 
pathetic  story  of  a  life  begun  in  poverty  and  iguorance,  and 
wreched  in  early  manhood  for  lack  of  better  guides,  to  a 
fellow  countrymau,  the  surgeon  of  the  prison.  It  needs  a 
certain  effort,  so  rapid  have  beeu  the  changes  of  the  last 
forty  years,  to  realize  the  existence  in  South  AYales,  only  so 
far  back  as  1843,  of  a  state  of  society  such  as  Miss  Dillwyn 
depicts.  Neither  chapel,  nor  school,  nor  eisteddfod  extends 
its  influeuce  to  soften  the  manners  or  traiu  the  moral  seuse 
of  the  youth  of  Upper  Killay,  w^ho  grow  up,  on  their  bleak 
billside,  a  wild  aud  lawless  set,  regarding  the  policeman 
as  a  commou  enemy,  and  an  unprotected  traveller  as  legiti- 
mate  prey.  From  such  surroundiugs,  modified  in  slight 
degree  by  the  accideut  which  briugs  him  for  a  time  under 
the  tutelage  of  Gwenllian  Tudor,  the  embryo  rioter  forms  ' 
bis  views  of  human  life,  until  in  the  natural  course  of  things 
be  becomes  enrolled  among  "  Eebecca's"  children,  and  in- 
volved  in  the  course  of  events  which  lead  to  his  crime  and 
trausportation,  and  form  the  plot  of  the  tale, 

In  the  filling  in  of  this  simple  plan^  Miss  Dillwyn  finds 
an  opportunity  of  exhibiting  talents  of  no  mean  order.  In 
the  central  figure  of  Evan  Williams,  she  has  succeeded  in 


THE    FOLK-LORE    OF   WALES.  155 

placiiig  before  us  a  carefully  studied  and  tlioroughly  Imman 
portrait  of  a  typical  Welsliman, — a  Welsliman,  tliat  is,  of 
tbe  rudimentary  stage  of  civilization  indicated  above.  The 
subordiuate  characters  are  of  necessity  little  more  than 
outlines,  but  they  are  well  delineated  in  a  few  bold  and 
skilful  strokes,  and  seldom  fail  to  possess  distinct  individu- 
ality.  The  homeliuess  of  the  speaher's  narrative,  and  tlie 
cliaracteristic  threads  of  humour  interwoven  with  its  pathos, 
are  preserved  without  sacrificing  the  grace  of  an  accurate 
Engiish  style,  and  the  more  stirring  scenes  are  depicted  in 
language  which  retaius  its  simplicity  while  becoming  emi- 
nently  descriptive.  The  attach  on  the  gate,  the  struggle 
with  the  police,  the  escape  of  the  fugitives,  the  hero's  remorse 
ou  learning  his  victim's  name,  and  the  details  of  his  appre- 
hension,  form  a  contiuuous  series  of  vivid  pictures,  the  sus- 
tained  interest  of  which  is  never  marred  by  strain  after  effect. 
The  whole  work,  in  short,  conveys  the  impression  that  the 
authoress  is  writing  well  within  her  strength,  and  on  sub- 
jects  which  slie  thoroughly  understauds.  To  say  even  so 
much  is  to  attribute  to  "  the  Eebecca  Pàoter"  a  high  place 
among  contemporary  fiction. 


Cîje  J^olk^ìLare  of  Sllaleö, 

The  desirability  of  establishing  a  Welsh  Dialect  Society  has 
several  times,  within  the  last  ten  years,  been  dwelt  upon; 
and  quite  recently,  it  has  been  proposed  that  a  Welsh  Dialect 
Section  be  formed  in  ccnnection  with  our  own  Society.  A 
suggestion  has  also  been  made,  that  the  study  of  the  Folh- 
lore  of  the  Principality  might  with  advantage  be  included 
in  the  programme  of  such  society  or  section.  AMiatever 
may  be  done  to  carry  out  these  suggestions,  we  wish,  by 
way   oí  initiatiye,   to   take  this  opportunity  of  urging  our 


156  THE   FOLK-LORE   OF   WALES. 

readers,  wlio  are  resident  in  Wales,  to  do  all  in  their  power 
to  coUect  and  secure  what  stiU  remains  of  the  popular  litera- 
ture  of  the  country.     And  under  this  terin  we  would  coni- 
prehend  all  the  unwritten  literature  (if  such  an  expression 
be  permissible)  of  the  peasant — the  tales  and  legends  that 
constitute  his  History ;  the  songs,  verses,  and  ballads,  that 
form  his  Music  and  his  Poetry,  the  proverbs  that  embody 
his  Philosophy,  as  well  as  all  those  observances,  beliefs,  and 
ideas  which  are  more  strictly  included  in  the  term  rolk-lore. 
As  might  have  been  expected,  in  the  case  of  a  people  of 
such  strong  imagination,  the  various  Celtic  peoples  are,  or 
have  been,  singularly  wealthy  in  such  popular  literature. 
Very  much  has  been  lost  for  ever,  and  much  more  will  be 
lost,  unless  some  special  efforts  be  speedily  made  to  secure 
what  remains,  before  those  powerful  influences,  which  are  so 
rapidly  deceltising  these  lands,  shall  have  made  it  too  late. 
Of  what  Cornwall  possessed,  while  it  was  yet  Celtic  in  lan- 
guage,  we  can  now  only  surmise ;  and  in  Wales,  the  day  for 
oathering  a  rich  harvest  has  long  since  passed.     In  Ireland 
also,  it  is  rapidly  passing ;  and  passing,  alas !  to  a  great  ex- 
tent,  if  not  entirely,  unimproved.     ]S"o   adeçLuate  effort,  so 
far  as  we  are  aware,  is  being  made  to  secure  the  immense 
mass    of  songs    and    tales,  which  are  stiU  sung  and    told 
by  tlie  winter  fìreside   in  the  cabins  of  Connemara.     And 
very  soon  it  will  be  too  late  there,  too.     Every  year  carries 
away  some  of  the  old  people,  whose  sole  literature  has  been 
of  this  class  ;  and  every  year  makes  the  newspaper,  the  great 
rival  and  foe  of  the  story-teller,  more  and  more  common. 
Tn  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  Mr.  Campbell  has  done  good 
service  by  the  collection  of  his  Poimlar  Tales.     But  it  is 
Brittany  that  has  been  fortunate,  beyond  almost  any  other 
country  in  Europe.     In  the  person  of  M.  Luzel,  it  possesses 
a  collector  who  may  fairly  be  described  as  unrivaUed.     Of 
what  he  has  done,  aud  how  he  has  doue  it,  our  readers  may 


TIIK  folk-loi;e  of  wales.  157 

form  an  opinion  by  glancing  tlnongli  the  two  volumes  of  his 
Gwerziou  Breiz-Izcl,  liis  Veillées  Bretonnes,  and  the  pages  of 
Mélusine.  If  he  lives  (and  we  devoutly  hope  that  he  will) 
to  give  to  the  world  his  complete  collection  of  songs  and 
tales,  the  popular  literature  of  Brittany  will  be  presented 
to  the  student  witli  a  completeness  that  shall  leave  little  to 
be  desired. 

As  already  observed,  the  tinie  for  gathering  such  a  rich 
harvest  in  Wales  has  passed  for  ever :  it  had  passed,  indeed, 
long  before  students  of  language  and  ethnology  had  per- 
ceived  the  value  of  these  treasures.  To  have  secured  the 
fuU  wealth  of  song  and  tale,  that  once  circulated  in  the 
Principality,  measures  should  have  been  taken  at  least  a 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  while  this  traditional  lore  stiU 
constituted  the  sole  mental  wealth  of  the  peasant.  Still, 
much  remaius  to  be  gieaned  in  out-of-tlie-way  corners ;  very 
much  more  tlian  a  casual  observer  would  expect  to  fìnd. 
But,  like  ghost  stories,  these  remains  must  be  sought,  and 
sought  in  a  sympathetic  spirit,  ere  they  can  be  found.  And 
we  would  urge  tliose  of  our  readers,  wdio  have  the  oppor- 
tunity,  to  engage  in  the  quest  con  amore,  ere  it  is  too  late. 
For  another  generation  of  elementary  schools,  newspapers, 
and  cheap  novels,  with  the  change  of  language  which  these 
agencies  are  so  rapidly  effecting,  will  have  swept  away  most 
of  what  yet  remains.  As  deserving  objects  of  the  collector's 
pious  care,  might  be  specified  : — 

1.  Tales,  legends,  and  traditions  of  all  kinds. 

2.  Songs,  and  poetic  fragments  of  all  kinds,  not  forgetting, 
especially  as  being  rare,  Welsli  nursery  rhymes,  lullabys,  or 
shoheens. 

3.  Old  airs. 

4.  Folk-lore,  strictly  so-called,  comprising  old  observances 
and  customs,  the  superstitions,  ideas,  and  prejudices  of  the 
common  people. 


158  NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

5.  Eiddles,  puzzles,  and  verbal  tasks. 

6.  Formnlíe  used  in  games,  witli  description  of  tlie  games, 
if  necessary. 

In  orderthat  anytliing  thiis  coUected  mayhaA^e  a  scientific 
value,  it  must  be  authentic.  The  song  or  tale  may  be  crude 
and  inelegant,  imperfect,  or  even  uuintelligible,  yet  it  should 
be  recorded  with  scrupulous  fidelity,  as  it  was  sung  or  told 
by  the  peasant,  from  whom  it  has  been  obtained ;  if  it  is 
tinkered  to  suit  the  narrator's  ideas  of  literary  excellence,  or 
to  satisfy  any  of  his  preconceived  ideas,  notions,  or  theories, 
it  becomes  worthless.  We  have  already  referred  to  M.  Lu^el's 
labours,  and  we  would  specify  his  Gwerziou  Breiz-Izel  as  a 
model  of  what  a  coUection  of  popular  songs  should  be.  We 
might  instance,  again,  a  work  dealing  with  the  same  subject, 
and  contaming,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  same  matter, — 
Yillemarqué's  Barzaz  Breiz,  as  a  type  of  what  such  a  collection 
should  not  be.  The  songs  in  tbe  former  are  often  imperfect, 
rugged,  and  partially  unÌDtelligible;  while  those  in  the  latter 
are  finished  and  elegant,  and  possess  much  literary  beauty ; 
yet  it  does  not  require  that  one  should  be  a  specialist  in  this 
department,  in  order  to  know  to  which  of  the  two  a  Lieb- 
recht,  or  a  Köhler  would  turn  for  a  representation  of  what 
the  popular  -poetrj  of  Brittany  really  is.  In  saying  this,  we 
do  not  in  the  least  wish  to  pronounce  an  opinion  on  the 
matter  in  dispute  between  M.  de  La  Villemarqué  and  his 
critics  :  it  is  enough  for  us  that  the  authenticity  of  the  Barzaz 
Breiz  can,  with  some  show  of  reason  (not  to  put  it  more 
strongly)  be  denied.  A  coUection  of  the  kind,  to  have  any 
scientific  value,  must  be  above  suspicion. 

Any  readers  who  may  feel  anxious  to  become  collectors, 
should  observe  the  following  rules  : — 

1.  Whatever  is  recorded,  should  be  given  with  absolute 
fidelitv,  as  it  fell  from  the  narrator's  mouth. 


NOTES   ANI)    Qri:iìIKS.  159 

2.  Il  sliould  be  stated  wliere,  when,  and  from  wliom,  eacli 
tale,  song,  etc,  was  obtained:  and  if  the  narrator  is  known  to 
be  a  native  of  another  district  than  that  in  wliich  he  is  found, 
it  slioidd  be  mentioned. 

3.  The  collector  should  generally  go  to  the  oldest  and 
most  iUiterate  peasants,  as  these  naturally  preserve  their 
traditional  lore  with  the  greatest  fidelity,  both  as  to  matter 
and  form.  Such  persons  also  speak  the  dialects  with  the 
greatest  purity. 

4.  Fragments  of  tales,  etc,  sliould  be  carefully  recorded  ; 
and  also  difîerent  versions  should  be  given,  if  the  variation  is 
at  all  considerable. 

We  shall  be  glad  to  give  a  place  in  the  Cymmrodor  to 
such  gleanings  as  we  may  from  time  to  time  be  favoured  by 
our  fellow-members. 


Boteö  anîi  auertcö. 

A  YERY  learned  and  active  member  of  the  Society  has  sug- 
gested  that  it  might  be  well  to  devote  some  space  in  every 
number  of  Y  Cymmroclor  to  "  N"otes  and  Queries".  This 
suggestion  it  gives  us  great  pleasure  to  act  upon,  aud  we 
hope  our  readers  wiU  give  their  help,  and  send  us  any  fact 
worth  recording  in  connection  with  "  Cymru,  Cymry,  a  Chyni- 
raeg",  which  they  may  at  any  time  "  make  a  note  of". 


(Diieríeö. 

Blodeüwedd  as  a  Name  for  the  Owl. — In  the  Mahinorji 
of  ^lath  ab  Mathonwy,  an  account  is  given  of  the  transform- 
ation  of  the  faithless  Flower-aspect  into  an  owl,  and  it  is 
added  :  "  Xow  Ijlodeuwedd  is  an  owl  in  the  language  of  tliis 

present  time And  even  now  the  owl  is  called  Blodeu- 

wedd"  (Guest's  MaUnogion,  iii,  214,  249).     In  the  note  on 


160  NOTES   AND    QUERIES, 

p.  258,  reference  is  made  to  Davydd  ab  Gwilym's  poera  on 
the  subject.  Silvan  Evans,  in  liis  Eng.-Welsh  Dicty.  s.v. 
"  owl",  gives  "  blodeuwedd"  as  a  rendering.  Wliat  other 
references  (if  any)  are  there  in  Welsh  literature  to  this 
metamorphosis  ?  And  is  the  name  hlodeuwedd  still  given  to 
the  owl  in  any  district  of  Wales  ?  Glanikvon. 


A  Description  of  the  Day  of  Judgment. — The  Welsh 
article  under  this  heading  in  the  present  number  appears  to 
be  a  translation,  probably  from  the  Latin.  Can  any  of  our 
readers  direct  us  to  the  original  ?  Editor. 

Gloucester  and   its   Intonicants. — Years  ago  I   heard 

from  a  native  of  Carmarthenshire,  resident  in  Breconshire, 

the  foUowÌÄg  doggerel  verse  : 

"  Yn  nhre'  Llyndeu  mae  cyfi'eth  gywren, 
Yn  Rhydychen  mae  gwyr  o  ddysg  ; 
Yng  Ngharloyw  mae  gwin  a  chwrw, 
A  dynion  meddw  yn  eu  mysg." 

Why  should  Gloucester  have  been  selected  as  the  place  par 
excellence  of  "  î'.mie  ancl  heer"?  Was  that  city  at  any  time 
famous  or  infamous  in  that  respect  ?  Glanirvon. 

Welsh  Phrases. — It  is  niuch  to  be  desired  that  some 
competent  person  would  give  us  a  Dictionary  of  Welsh 
Phrase  and  Fahle  :  it  would  be  an  interesting  and,  wliat  dic- 
tionaries  generally  are  not,  an  amusing  work.  Pending  the 
appearance  of  such  a  work,  can  any  reader  of  Y  Cymmrodor 
throw  light  on  the  origin  of  the  following  phrases  ? 

1.  BrathiCr  cjaseg  wen.  I  have  often  heard  this  expression 
used  to  describe  the  conduct  of  a  person  who  breaks  in  upon 
conversation  wàth  some  stupid  or  irrelevant  remark,  or  some 
foolish  explanation  or  answer :  e.g.,  Dyna  fe  'n  hrathu'r  gascg 
wen  (or,  more  fully,  yn  hrathîi'r  gaseg  wen  yn  rhyiole),  There 
lie  goes  with  his  wild  and  thoughtless  answer. 


^  NOTICES.  161 

2.  Bod  ym  Wiciiboir =to  be  a  fool.  I  liave  heard  it  said 
of  a  maii,  Oh,  y  mae  llawer  o  hono  fe  ym  Mheiiboir  yto  :  OIi, 
he  has  a  good  deal  of  the  fool  about  him  yet.  Penboir  is  iii 
Carmarthenshire,  but  why  is  it  thus  libelled  ? 

3.  Flaìit  Sion  Gnoc=z''  íools,  noodles".  This  expression  1 
have  heard  in  the  Western  part  of  Breconshire.  A  foolish 
young  woman  is  sometimes  humorously  designated  Uîi  o 
ferched  Sion  Cnoc ;  or  it  will  be  said  of  one,  Oh,  un  o  blant 
Sion  Cnoc  yw  ynte.  I  never  could  learn  who  Sion  was,  but 
it  seems  to  be  generally  acknowledged  that  his  family  is  a 
numerous  one.  Is  he  known  to  any  Cymmrodor  otherwise 
than  throuíîli  his  descendants  ? 

4.  GodreW  Rhiio  dyimjll=dX  a  safe  distance.  This,  I 
believe,  comes  from  Cardiganshire.  It  is  used  of  a  person 
who  loudly  denounces  another  in  his  absence,  and  implies 
the  belief  tliat  the  blusterer  would  be  discreetly  silent  in 
that  other's  presence  :  e.g.,  le,  ie,  yng  ngodre'r  Rhiw  dywyll  y 
mae  e'n  cymhenu  bob  amser  :  He  always  scolds  at  a  safe  dis- 
tance,  when  the  person  reproved  is  far  enough  out  of  hear- 
ing. 

5.  Giuerthu'r  hwrdd=to  mutter  sulkily,  said  of  a  person 
who  mumbles  indistinctly  some  reply  which  he  dare  not,  or 
does  not  care  to  give  openly  :  e.g.,  Dyna  lle'r  o'dd  e'ngicerthu'r 
hwrdd  :  There  he  stood,  muttering  and  grumbling.  Some- 
times  I  have  heard  the  phrase  expanded  into  gioerthu'r 
hwrdd  am  lai  nag  a  dalaife  (to  sell  the  ram  for  less  than  its 
value).     Who  made  the  bargain  that  originated  the  saying  ? 

Glanirvon. 


SoMETiME  ago  a  leading  London  Eeview  gave  us  the  interest- 
ing  information  that  I'rof  lihŷs  was  engaged  upon  a  History 
of  the  Brcton  Celts.     This,  hoM'ever,  was  a  misconception : 

VOL.  IV.  M 


1G2  NOTICES. 

tlìe  work  referred  to  wiU  treat  not  of  Brittany  and  its 
people,  biit  of  Early  Britain,  Celtic,  ancl  Prc-Ccltic.  It  is 
to  form  tlie  íirst  of  a  series  dealing  with  tlie  early  history  of 
the  islandj  to  be  issued  by  the  S.P.C.K.,  and  will  be  followed 
by  others  on  Eoman,  Saxon,  and  Scandinavian  Britain.  AVe 
understand  that  a  part  of  the  work  has  been  written,  and 
that  it  wiU  be  completed  as  soon  as  the  Professor's  labours 
in  connection  with  the  Education  Commission  permit  him  to 
resume  his  pen. 

It  has  also  been  announced  that  Mr.  Pihŷs  has  undertaken 
to  edit  Pennanfs  Tours  for  Mr.  Humphreys  of  Carnarvon. 


Still  more  gratifying  is  the  hope  held  out  that  the  same 
scholar  wiU  soon  be  called  upon  to  prepare  a  new  edition  of 
the  Mcibinogion,  to  be  issued  by  the  Clarendon  Press. 


While  on  the  subject  of  Prof.  Ehŷs's  literary  engagements, 
actual  and  prospective,  we  are  glad  to  be  able  to  announce 
that  our  next  number  will  contain  a  paper  of  some  length 
from  his  pen. 


WiTH  regard  to  the  long-expected  Wclsh  Dictionary  of  Prof. 
Silvan  Evans,  the  Cymmroclor  has  already  made  announce- 
ments  giving  rise  to  hopes  which  have  proved  to  be  of  that 
kind  which  "maketh  the  heart  sick",  Mr.  Evans  has 
loohed  in  vain  for  a  publisher  in  the  principality ;  the  mantle 
of  Owain  Myfyr  has  not  rested  on  the  shouhlers  of  any  of  ' 
his  countrymen.  However,  there  is  good  ground  for  hope 
that  the  same  press  which  promises  a  new  edition  of  our 
great  romances,  wiU  lay  us  under  further  obUgations  by 
giving  to  the  worhl  the  new  Geiriadur.  The  author  hopes 
"that  at  no  distant  date  he  will  be  able  to  see  his  way 
clearly  to  the  press". 


Cymmroîíor* 


OCTOBEE     1881. 


WELSH     FAIRY     TALES. 

By  Professor  RHYS. 


The  main  object  tlie  writer  of  this  paper  has  in  view,  is  to 
place  on  record  all  tlie  matter  he  can  fìnd  on  the  subject  of  the 
lake  legends  of  Wales :  what  he  may  have  to  say  of  them  is 
merely  by  the  way  and  sporadic,  and  he  would  feel  well  paid 
for  his  trouble  if  the  present  coUection  should  stimulate 
others  to  communicate  to  the  public  bits  of  similar  legends, 
which,  it  may  be,  stiU  linger  unrecorded  among  the  moun- 
tains  of  the  Principality.  For  it  should  be  clearly  under- 
stood  that  all  such  things  bear  on  the  history  of  the  Celts 
of  Wales,  as  the  history  of  no  people  can  be  said  to  have 
been  written  so  long  as  its  superstitions  and  beliefs  in  past 
times  have  not  been  studied ;  and  those  who  may  thiuk  that 
the  legends  here  recorded  are  childish  and  frivolous,  may 
rest  assured  that  they  bear  on  questions  wliich  themselves 
could  be  called  neither  childish  nor  frivolous.  So,  however 
siUy  they  may  think  a  legend,  let  them  communicate  it  to 
somebody  who  will  place  it  on  record ;  they  wiU  then,  pro- 
bably,  find  out  that  it  has  more  meaning  and  interest  tlian 
they  had  anticipated. 

I.  The  Myddvai  Legend — Little  Yax  Lake. 

I  find  it  best  to  begin  by  reproducing  a  story  whicli  has 
already  been  recorded ;  this  I  think  desirable  on  account  of 
VOL.  IV.  N 


164  WELSH    FAIIIY   TALES. 

its  beìng  the  best  tolcl,  tbe  most  complete  of  its  kind,  ancl  the 
one  with  which  shorter  ones  can  most  readily  be  compared. 
I  aUude  to  the  legend  of  the  Lady  of  the  Lake  of  the  Little 
Van  in  Carmarthenshire,  which  I  take  the  liberty  of  copying 
from  Mr.  Eees  of  Tonn's  version  of  it,  in  the  introduction 
to  Thc  Physicians  of  Myclchai,  published  by  the  Welsh 
Manuscript  Society  at  Llandovery,  iu  1861.  There  he  says 
that  he  wrote  it  down  from  the  oral  recitations,  which  I  sup- 
pose  were  in  Welsh,  of  John  Evans,  tiler,  of  Myddvai, 
David  WiUiams,  Morva,  near  Myddvai,  who  was  about  ninety 
years  ohl  at  the  time,  and  Elizabeth  Morgan,  of  Henllys 
Lodge,  near  Llandovery,  who  was  a  native  of  the  same  vil- 
lage  of  Myddvai ;  to  this  it  niay  be  added  that  he  achuow- 
ledges  obligations  also  to  J.  Joseph,  Esq.,  E.S.A.,  Brecon, 
for  collecting  particulars  from  the  old  inhabitants  of  the 
parish  of  Llanddeusant.  The  legend,  as  given  by  Mr.  Rees 
iu  English,  runs  as  foUows : — 

"  When  the  eventful  striiggle  made  by  the  Princes  of  South 
Wales  to  preserve  the  independence  of  their  country  was 
drawing  to  its  close  in  the  twelfth  century,  tliere  lived  at 
Blaensawdde^  near  Llanddeusant,  Carmarthenshire,  a  widowed 
woman,  the  relict  of  a  farmer  who  had  falleu  in  those  disas- 
trous  troubles. 

"  The  widow  had  an  only  son  to  bring  up,  and  Providence 
smiled  upon  her,  and,  despite  her  forlorn  condition,  her  live 
stock  had  so  increased  in  course  of  time  that  she  could  not 
well  depasture  them  upon  her  farm,  so  she  sent  a  portion  of 
her  cattle  to  graze  on  the  adjoining  Black  Mountain,  and 
their  niost  favourite  place  was  near  the  small  lake  called 

1  "Blaensawdde,  or  the  upper  end  of  the  river  Sawdde—  is  situate  about 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  S.E.  from  the  yillage  of  Llanddeusant.  It  gives 
its  name  to  one  of  the  hamlets  of  that  parish.  Tlie  Sawdde  has  its  source 
in  Llyn-y-Van-Vach,  which  is  nearly  two  miles  distant  from  Blaen- 
sawdde  house." 


WELSII    FAIRY   TALES.  1G5 

Llyn-y-Van-Vacli,  on  tlie  north-western  side  of  the  Carmar- 
thensliire  Vans. 

"  Tlie  son  grew  up  to  manhood,  and  was  generally  sent  by 
his  mother  to  look  after  the  cattle  on  the  mountain.  One 
day,  in  his  peregrinations  along  the  margin  of  the  lake,  to  his 
great  astonishment,  he  beheld,  sitting  on  the  unruffled  surface 
of  the  water,  a  Lady;  one  of  the  most  beautiful  creatures 
that  mortal  eyes  ever  beheld,  her  hair  flowed  gracefully  in 
ringlets  over  her  shoulders,  the  tresses  of  which  she  arranged 
with  a  comb,  whilst  the  glassy  surface  of  her  watery  couch 
served  for  the  purpose  of  a  niirror,  reflecting  back  her  own 
image.  Suddenly  she  belield  the  young  man  standing  on  the 
brink  of  the  lake,  with  his  eyes  rivetted  on  her,  and  uncon- 
sciously  offering  to  herself  the  provision  of  barley  bread  and 
cheese  with  which  he  had  been  provided  when  he  left  his 
home. 

"Bewildered  by  a  feeling  of  love  and  admiration  for  the 
object  before  him,  he  continued  to  hold  out  his  hand  towards 
the  lady,  who  imperceptibly  glided  near  to  liirn,  but  gently 
refused  the  offer  of  his  provisions.  He  attempted  to  touch 
her,  but  she  eluded  his  grasp,  saying 

'  Cras  dy  fara ; 
Nid  hawdd  fy  nala.' 

'  Hard  baked  is  thy  bread ! 
'Tis  not  easy  to  catch  me ;' 

and  immediately  dived  under  the  water,  and  disappeared, 
leaving  the  love-strickeu  youtli  to  return  home,  a  prey  to 
disappointment  and  regret  that  lie  had  been  unable  to  make 
furtlier  acquaintance  with  one,  in  comparison  witli  wliom  tlie 
whcle  of  the  fair  maidens  of  Llauddeusant  and  Myddrai,^ 
whom  he  had  ever  seen  were  as  nothing. 

1  "Myddvai  parish  was,  in  fornier  times,  celebrated  for  its  fair  maidens, 
but  whether  they  were  descendants  of  the  Lady  of  the  Lake  or  othLU- 

n2 


166  WELSH   FAIRY   TALES. 

"  On  his  retiirn  liome  tlie  yoiing  man  commimicated  to  his 
mother  tlie  extraordinary  vision  lie  had  behehl.  She  advised 
him  to  take  some  unbahed  dough  or  '  toes'  the  next  time  in 
his  pocket,  as  there  must  have  been  some  spell  connected 
AYÌth  the  hard  baked  bread,  or  '  Bara  cras',  which  prevented 
his  catchiug  tlie  lady, 

"  Next  morning,  before  the  sun  had  gihled  with  its  rays  the 
peaks  of  the  Vans,  the  young  man  was  at  the  lake,  not  for 
the  purpose  of  looking  after  his  mother's  cattle,  but  seehing 
for  the  same  enchanting  vision  he  had  witnessed  the  day 
before ;  but  all  in  vain  did  he  anxiously  strain  his  eye-balls 
and  glance  over  the  surface  of  the  lake,  as  only  the  ripples 
occasioned  by  a  stiff  breeze  met  his  view,  and  a  cloud  hung 
heavily  on  tlie  summit  of  the  Van,  which  imparted  an  addi- 
tional  gloom  to  his  already  distracted  mind. 

"  Hours  passed  on,  the  wind  was  hushed,  and  the  clouds 
which  had  enveloped  the  mountaiu  had  vanished  into  thin 
air,  before  the  powerful  beams  of  the  sun,  when  the  youth 
w^as  startled  by  seeing  some  of  his  mother's  cattle  on  the  pre- 
cipitous  side  of  the  acclivity,  nearly  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  lake.     lîis  duty  impelled  him  to  attempt  to  rescue  them 

wise  cannot  be  determined,     An  old  pennill  records  the  fact  of  their 

beauty  thus : — 

'  Mae  eira  gwyn 

Ar  ben  y  bryu, 

A'r  glasgoed  yn  y  Ferdre, 

Mae  bedw  mân 

Ynghoed  Cwm-brân, 

A  merched  glâu  yn  Myddfe.' 

Which  may  be  trauslated, 

'  There  is  white  snow 
On  the  mouutain's  brow, 
And  greenwood  at  the  Yerdre, 
Youug  birch  so  good 
In  Cwmbrâu  Avood, 
And  lovely  girls  in  Myddve,'  " 


WELSH   FAIRY   TALES.  1G7 

fi'oni  their  perilous  position,  for  wliich  purpose  he  was  hasten- 
ing  away,  wheu,  to  his  inexpressible  clelight,  the  object  of  his 
search  agaiu  appeared  to  hiui  as  before,  and  seeuied  much 
more  beautiful  than  when  he  first  beheld  her.  His  hand  was 
again  held  out  to  her,  fuU  of  unbaked  bread,  which  he  offered 
with  an  urgent  proffer  of  his  heart  also,  and  vows  of  eterual 
attachnient.     All  of  which  were  refused  by  her,  sayiug 

'  Llaith  dy  fara  ! 
Ti  ni  fynna'.' 

'  Unbaked  is  thy  bread ! 
I  wiU  not  have  thee.' 

But  the  smiles  that  played  upon  her  features  as  the  lady 
Yanished  beneath  the  waters  raised  within  the  young  man  a 
hope  that  forbade  him  to  despair  by  her  refusal  of  him,  and 
the  recollection  of  which  cheered  him  on  his  way  home.  His 
aged  parent  was  made  acquainted  with  liis  iU-success,  and 
she  suggested  that  his  bread  should  next  time  be  but  slightly 
baked,  as  most  likely  to  please  the  mysterious  being,  of  whom 
he  had  become  enamoured. 

*'  Impelled  by  an  irresistible  feeling,  the  youth  left  his 
mother's  house  early  next  moruing,  and  with  rapid  steps  he 
passed  over  the  mountain.  He  was  soon  near  the  margin  of 
the  lake,  and  with  all  tlie  impatience  of  an  ardeut  lover  did 
he  wait  witli  a  feverish  anxiety  for  the  reappearance  of  the 
mysterious  lady. 

"  The  sheep  and  goats  browsed  on  the  precipitous  sides  of 
the  Van ;  the  cattle  strayed  amongst  the  rocks  and  large 
stones,  some  of  which  were  occasioually  loosened  from  their 
beds  and  suddenly  rolled  down  iuto  the  lake ;  raiu  and  sun- 
shine  alike  came  and  passed  away,  but  all  were  unheeded  by 
the  youth,  so  wrapped  up  was  he  in  looking  for  the  appear- 
ance  of  the  lady. 

"  Tlie  freshness  of  the  early  morning  had  disappeared  before 
the  sultry  rays  of  the  noon-day  sun,  wliicli  in  its  turn  was 


168  WELSH   FAIRY   TALES. 

fast  verging  towards  tlie  west  as  tlie  evening  was  dying  away 
and  making  room  for  the  shades  of  night,  and  hope  had  well 
uigh  abated  of  beholding  once  more  the  Lady  of  the  Lake. 
The  young  man  cast  a  sad  and  last  farewell  look  over  the 
waters,  and,  to  his  astonishment,  beheld  several  cows  walhing 
along  its  surface.  The  sight  of  these  animals  caused  hope  to 
revive  that  they  would  be  followed  by  another  object  far 
more  pleasing;  nor  was  he  disappointed,  for  the  maiden  re- 
appeared,  and  to  his  enraptured  sight,  even  lovelier  than 
ever.  She  approached  the  land,  and  he  rushed  to  meet  her 
in  the  water.  A  smile  encouraged  liim  to  seize  her  hand ; 
neither  did  she  refuse  the  moderately  baked  bread  he  offered 
her;  and  after  some  persuasion,  she  consented  to  become  his 
bride,  ou  condition  tliat  they  should  only  live  together  until 
she  received  from  him  three  blows  without  a  cause, 

'  Tri  ergyd  diaclios.' 

'  Three  causeless  blows.' 

And  if  lie  ever  should  happen  to  strihe  her  three  such  blows, 
she  would  leave  him  for  ever.  To  such  conditions  he  readily 
consented,  and  would  have  consented  to  any  other  stipu- 
lation,  had  it  been  proposed,  as  he  was  only  intent  on  then 
securing  such  a  lovely  creature  for  his  wife. 

"  Thus  the  Lady  of  the  Lake  engaged  to  become  the  young 
man's  Avife,  and  having  loosed  her  hand  for  a  moment,  she 
darted  away  and  dived  into  tlie  lake.  His  cliagrin  and  grief 
were  such  that  he  determiued  to  cast  himself  headlong  into 
the  deepest  w^ater,  so  as  to  end  liis  life  in  the  element  that 
had  contained  in  its  unfathomed  depths  the  only  one  for 
whom  he  cared  to  live  on  earth.  As  he  was  on  the  point  of 
committino-  this  rash  act,  there  emerged  out  of  the  lake  two 
most  beautiful  ladies,  accompanied  by  a  hoary-headed  man 
of  noble  mien  and  extraordinary  stature,  but  having  other- 
wise  all  the  force  and  strength  of  youth.    This  man  addressed 


WELSH   FAIRY   TALES.  109 

the  almost  bewilderecl  youth  iu  íiccents  calculated  to  soothe 
his  troubled  miud,  saying  that  as  he  proposed  to  marry  one 
of  his  daughters,  he  conseuted  to  the  union,  provided  the 
young  man  couhl  distinguish  which  of  the  two  ladies  before 
him  was  the  object  of  his  affections.  This  was  no  easy  task, 
as  the  maidens  were  sucli  perfect  counterjoarts  of  each  other 
that  it  seemed  quite  impossible  for  him  to  choose  his  bride, 
and  if  perchance  he  fixed  upon  the  wrong  one,  all  would  be 
for  ever  lost. 

"  Whilst  the  young  man  narrowly  S'^anned  the  two  ladies, 
he  could  not  perceire  tlie  least  difference  betwixt  the  two, 
and  was  íilmost  giving  up  the  task  in  despair,  wlien  one  of 
them  thrust  her  foot  a  sh'ght  degree  forward.  The  motion, 
simple  as  it  was,  did  not  escape  the  observation  of  the  youth, 
and  he  discovered  a  triHing  variation  in  the  mode  with  which 
their  sandals  were  tied.  This  at  once  put  an  eud  to  the 
dilemma,  for  he,  who  had  on  previous  occasions  beeu  so 
taken  up  with  the  general  appearance  of  the  Lady  of  the 
Lake,  had  also  noticed  the  beauty  of  her  feet  and  ankles,  and 
on  now  recognising  the  peculiarity  of  her  shoe-tie  he  boldly 
took  hold  of  her  hand. 

" '  Thou  hast  chosen  rightly,'  said  her  father,  '  be  to  her  a 
kind  and  faitliful  husband,  and  I  will  give  her,  as  a  dowry, 
as  many  sheep,  cattle,  goats,  and  horses,  as  she  can  count  of 
each  without  heaving  or  drawing  in  her  breath.  But  re- 
member,  that  if  you  prove  unkind  to  her  at  any  time,  and 
strike  her  three  times  without  a  cause,  she  shall  retiirn  to 
me,  and  shall  bring  all  her  stock  back  with  her.' 

"  Such  was  the  verbal  marriage  settlement,  to  which  tlie 
young  man  gladly  assented,  and  his  bride  was  desired  to 
count  the  number  of  sheep  she  was  to  have.  She  imnie- 
diately  adopted  the  niode  of  counting  by  Jivcs,  thus  : — One, 
two,  three,  four,  five — One,  two,  three,  four,  five ;  as  many 
times  as  possible  in  rapid  succession,  till  her  breatli  was  ex- 


170  WELSH   FAIliY  TALES. 

hausted.  Tlie  same  process  of  reckoning  had  to  determine 
the  nimiber  of  goats,  cattle,  and  horses  respectively ;  and  in 
an  instant  the  full  number  of  each  came  out  of  the  lake 
when  called  upon  by  the  Father. 

"  The  young  couple  were  then  married,  by  what  ceremony 
was  not  stated,  and  afterwards  went  to  reside  ata  farm  called 
Esgair  Llaethdy,  somewhat  more  than  a  mile  from  the  yillage 
of  Myddvai,  where  they  lived  in  prosperity  and  happiness 
for  several  years,  and  became  the  parents  of  three  sons,  who 
were  beautiful  children, 

"  Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  christening  to  take  place 
in  the  neighbourhood,  to  which  the  parents  were  specially 
invited.  When  the  day  arrived,  the  wife  appeared  very  re- 
luctant  to  attend  the  christening,  alleging  that  the  distance 
was  too  £>reat  for  her  to  walk.  Her  husband  told  her  to  fetch 
one  of  the  horses  which  were  grazing  in  an  adjoining  field. 
'  I  will/  said  she,  '  if  you  will  briug  me  my  gioves  wliich  I 
left  in  our  house.'  He  went  to  the  house  and  returned  with 
the  gloves,  and  finding  that  slie  had  not  gone  for  the  horse, 
jocularly  slapped  her  shoulder  with  one  of  them,  saying,  'go! 
go !'  (dos,  dos)  when  she  reminded  him  of  tlie  understanding 
upon  which  slie  consented  to  marry  him : — That  he  was  not 
to  strike  her  without  a  cause ;  and  warned  liim  to  be  more 
cautious  for  the  future. 

"  On  another  occasion,  when  they  were  together  at  a  wed- 
ding,  in  the  midst  of  the  mirth  and  hilarity  of  the  assembled 
guests,  who  had  gathered  together  from  all  the  surrounding 
country,  she  burst  into  tears  and  sobbed  most  piteously.  Her 
husband  touched  her  on  her  shoulder  and  enquired  the  cause 
of  her  weeping :  she  said, '  No w  people  are  entering  into  trouble, 
and  your  troubles  are  likely  to  comnience,  as  you  have  the 
second  time  strichen  me  without  a  cause.' 

"  Years  passed  on,  and  their  children  had  grown  up,  and 
were  particularly  clever  young  men.    In  the  midst  of  so  niany 


WELSH   FAIUY  TALES.  171 

worldly  Uessings  at  home  the  husband  almost  forgot  that 

there  remained  ouly  one  causeless  blow  to  be  given  to  destroy 

the  whole  of  his  prosperity.     Still  he  was  watchful  lest  any 

trÌYÌal  occurrence  should  take  place,  which  his  wife  must  re- 

gard  as  a  breach  of  their  marriage  contract.     She  tokl  him, 

as  her  affection  for  him  was  unabated,  to  be  careful  that  he 

would  not,  through  some  inadvertence,  give  the  last  and  only 

blow,  which,  by  an  unalterable  destiny,  over  wliich  she  had 

no  control,  would  separate  them  for  ever. 

"  It,  however,  so  happened  that  one  day  they  were  together 

at  a  funeral,  where,  in  tlie  midst  of  the  mourning  and  grief 

at  the  house  of  the  deceased,  she  appeared  iu  the  highest  and 

gayest  spirits,  and  indulged  iu  immoderate  fits  of  laughter, 

which  so  shoched  her  husband  that  he  touched  her  saying, 

'  Hush  !  hush  !  don't  laugh.'     She  said  that  she  laughed  '  be- 

cause  people  wheu  they  die  go  out  of  trouble,'  and,  rising  up, 

she  went  out  of '  the  house,  saying,  '  The  last  blow  has  beeu 

struck,  our  marriage  contract  is  brokeu,  aud  at  an  end !  Fare- 

well ! '     Then  she  started  oíî  towards  Esgair  Llaethdy,  where 

she  called  her  cattle  and  other  stock  together,  each  by  name. 

The  cattle  she  called  thus : — 

'  Mu  -wlfrech,  Äloelfrech, 
Mu  olfrech,  Gwyufrech, 
Pedair  cae  touu-frech, 
Yr  hen  wynebwen. 
A'r  las  Geigeu, 
Gyda'r  Tarw  Gwyn 
O  lys  y  Breuiu  ; 
A'r  llo  tlu  bach, 
Sydd  ar  y  bach, 
Dere  dithau,  yn  iach  adre  ! ' 

*  Briudled  cow,  white  speclcled, 
Spotted  cow,  bold  freckled, 
The  four  field  sward  uiottled, 
The  ohl  white-faced, 
And  the  grcy  Geingen, 
Wilh  thc  white  Bull, 


172  WELSH   FAIRY   TALES. 

From  the  conrt  of  the  King ; 

And  the  little  black  calf 

Tho'  susiJended  on  the  hook, 
Come  thou  also,  quite  well  home ! ' 

Tliey  all  immecTiately  obeyed  tlie  summons  of  their  mistress, 
the '  little  black  calf',  although  it  had  been  slaughtered,  be- 
came  alive  again,  and  \valked  off  with  the  rest  of  the  stock 
at  tbe  command  of  the  Lady.  Tliis  happened  iu  the  spring 
of  the  year,  and  there  were  four  oxen  ploughing  in  one  of  the 
fìelds,  to  these  she  cried, 

'  Pedwar  eidiou  glas 
Sydd  ar  y  maes, 
Deuwch  chwithau 
Yn  iach  adre ! ' 

'  The  four  grey  oxen, 
That  are  on  the  field, 
Come  you  also. 
Quite  well  home ! ' 

Away  the  whole  of  the  live  stock  went  with  the  Lady  across 
Myddvai  Mountain,  towards  the  lake  from  whence  they  came, 
a  distance  of  above  six  miles,  where  they  disappeared  beneath 
its  waters,  leaving  no  trace  behind  except  a  well  marhed  fur- 
row,  wliich  was  made  by  the  plough  the  oxen  drew  after  them 
into  the  lake,  and  which  remains  to  this  day  as  a  testimony 
to  the  truth  of  this  story. 

"  A\liat  became  of  the  affrighted  ploughman — whether  he 
was  left  on  the  field  when  the  oxen  set  off,  or  whether  he 
foUowed  them  to  the  lake,  lias  not  been  handed  down  to  tra- 
dition ;  neither  has  the  fate  of  the  disconsolate  and  half- 
ruined  husbanà  been  kej)t  in  remembrance.  But  of  the  sons 
it  is  stated  that  they  often  w^andered  about  the  lake  and  its 
vicinity,  hoping  that  their  mother  might  be  piermitted  to 
visit  the  face  of  the  earth  once  more,  as  they  had  been 
apprised  of  her  mysterious  origiu,  her  first  appearance  to 


WELSII    FAIRY   TALES.  173 

their  fatlier,  and  tlie  untoward  circiimstances  whicli  so  iin- 
happily  deprived  them  of  her  maternal  care. 

"  In  one  of  tlieir  rarnbles,  at  a  place  near  Dôl  Howel,  at 
the  Mountain  Gate,  still  called 'Llidiad  y  Meddygon',  The 
Physicians'  Gate,  the  mother  appeared  suddenly,  and  accosted 
her  eldest  son,  whose  name  was  Ehiwallon,  and  told  him  that 
his  mission  on  earth  was  to  be  a  benefactor  to  niankind  Ijy 
relieving  them  from  pain  and  niisery,  through  healing  all 
manner  of  their  diseases ;  for  which  purpose  she  furnished 
him  with  a  bag  full  of  medical  prescriptions  and  instructions 
for  the  preservation  of  health.  That  by  strict  attention 
thereto,  he  and  his  family  would  become  for  many  gene- 
rations  the  most  skilful  physicians  in  the  country.  Then 
promising  to  meet  him  when  her  counsel  was  most  needed, 
she  Yanished.  But  on  several  occasions  she  met  her  sons 
near  tlie  banks  of  the  lake,  and  once  she  even  accompauied 
them  on  their  return  home  as  far  as  a  place  stiU  called  'Pant- 
y-Meddygon',  The  dingle  of  the  Physicians,  where  she  pointed 
out  to  them  the  various  plants  and  herbs  which  grew  in  the 
dingle,  and  revealed  to  them  their  medicinal  qualities  or 
virtues ;  and  the  knowledge  she  imparted  to  tliem,  together 
with  their  unrivalled  skill,  soon  caused  them  to  attain  such 
celebrity  that  none  ever  possessed  before  them.  And  in 
order  that  their  knowledge  should  not  be  lost,  they  wisely 
committed  the  same  to  writing^  for  the  benefit  of  mankind 
tliroughout  all  ages." 

To  the  legend  Mr.  Rees  added  the  foUowing  notes,  which 
W'e  reproduce  also  at  fiUl  length  : — 

"And  so  euds  the  story  of  the  Physicians  of  Myddrai, 

whicli  has  been  handed  down  from  one  generation  to  another, 

thus : — 

'  Yr  hên  wr  Uwyd  o'r  cornel, 
Gan  ei  dad  a  glywodd  cliwedel, 
A  chan  ei  dad  fe  glywodd  yntau 
Ac  ar  ei  ôl  lui  goüais  iunau.' 


174  WELSH   FAIRY   TALES. 

'  Tlie  grey  old  mau  iu  the  corner 
üf  liis  father  heard  a  story, 
Which  from  his  father  he  had  heard, 
And  after  them  1  have  remembered.' 

As  stated  in  the  introduction  of  the  present  work  [i.c,  the 

Physicians   of   Myddvai],  Ehiwallon  and   his  sons  became 

Physicians  to  Ehys  Gryg,  Lord  of  Llandovery  and  Dynevor 

Castles,   '  who   gave  them   rank,    lands,    and   privileges    at 

Myddvai   for  their   maintenance   in   the    practice   of  their 

art    and    science,   and    the    healing   and    benefit   of  those 

who  should  seek  their  help,'  thus  affording  to  those  who 

could  not  afford  to  pay,  the  best  medical  advice  and  treat- 

ment,  gratuitously.    Such  a  truly  Eoyal  foundation  could  not 

fail  to  produce  corresponding  effects.     So  the  fame  of  the 

Physicians  of  Myddvai  was  soon  established  over  the  whole 

country,  and  continued  for  centuries  among  their  descendants. 

"  The  celebrated  Welsh  Bard,  Dafydd  ap   Gwilym,  who 

ílourished  in  the  foUowing  century,  and  was  buried  at  the 

Abbey  of  Tal-y-Uychau,^  in  Caermarthenshire,  about  the  year 

1368,  says  in  one  of  his  poems,  as  quoted  in  Dr.  Davies' 

dictionary. 

'  Meddyg  ni  wnai  modd  y  gwnaeth 
Myddfai,  o  chai  ddyn  meddfaeth.' 

'  A  Physician  he  woiüd  not  make 
As  Myddyai  made,  if  he  had  a  mead  fostered  man.' 

Of  the  above  lands  bestowed  upon  the  Meddygon,  there  are 
two  farms  in  Myddvai  parish  still  called  '  Llwyn  Ifan  Feddyg' 
the  Grove  of  Evan  the  Physician ;  and  '  Llwyn  Meredydd 
Feddyg'  the  Grove  of  Meredith  the  Physician.  Esgaer  Lla- 
ethdy,  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  legend,  was  formerly  in 
the  possession  of  the  above  descendants,  and  so  was  Ty 
newydd,  near  Myddvai,  which  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Holford, 
of  Cilgwyn,  from  the  Eev.  Charles  Lloyd,  vicar  of  Llande- 
falle,  Breconshire,  who  married  a  daughter  of  one  of  the 

1  There  is,  I  belieye,  no  reason  to  think  that  thls  statement  is  correct. 


WELSII    FAIRY   TALES.  175 

]\Iedflygon,  and  liad  the  living  of  Llandefalle  from  a  lsív. 
Yaughan,  who  presented  him  to  the  same  out  of  gratitude, 
because  Mr.  Lloyd's  wife's  father  had  cured  him  of  a 
disease  in  the  eye.  As  ^NIr.  Lloyd  succeeded  to  the  above 
living  in  1748,  and  died  in  1800,  it  is  probable  that  the  skil- 
ful  oculist  was  John  Jones,  who  is  mentioned  in  the  follow- 
ing  inscription  on  a  tombstone  at  present  fixed  against  the 
west  end  of  Myddvai  Church. 

'  HERE 

Lieth  the  body  of    Mr.    David   Jones,    of    Mothvey,   Surgeon, 

who  was  an  honest,  charitable,  aud  skilful  man. 

He  died  September  lith,  Anno  Dom'  1719,  aged  61. 

JOHN  JONES,  Surgeon, 

Eldest  son  of  the  said  David  Jones,  departed  this  life 

the  25th  of  No^ember,   1739,  in  the  41th  year 

of  his  Age,  aud  also  lyes  interred  hereuuder.' 

These  appear  to  have  been  the  last  of  tlie  Physicians  who 
practised  at  Myddvai.  The  above  John  Jones  resided  for 
some  time  at  Llandovery,  and  w^as  a  very  eminent  surgeon. 
One  of  his  descendants,  named  John  Lewis,  lived  at  Cwmbran, 
Myddvai,  at  which  place  his  great  grandson  Mr.  John  Jones, 
now  resides. 

"  Dr.  Morgan  Owen,  Bishop  of  Llandaff,  wdio  died  at  Glas- 
allt,  parish  of  Myddvai,  in  1645,  was  a  descendant  of  the 
Meddygon,  and  an  inheritor  of  much  of  their  landed  property 
in  that  parish,  the  bulk  of  which  he  bequeathed  to  his  nephew, 
Morgan  Owen,  who  died  in  1G67,  and  w^as  succeeded  by  his 
son  Henry  Owen;  and  at  the  decease  of  the  last  of  whose 
descendants,  Eobert  Lewis,  Esq.,  the  estates  became,  through 
the  will  of  one  of  the  family,  the  property  of  the  late  D.  A.  S. 
Davies,  Esq.,  M.P.,  for  Caermarthenshire. 

"  Bishop  Owen  bequeathed  to  another  nephew,  Morgan  ap 
Ptees,  son  of  Piees  ap  John,  a  descendant  of  the  Meddygon, 
the  farm  of  Ehyl)lid,  and  some  other  property.     INIorgan  ap 


176  WELSH   FAIRY   TALES. 

Eees'  son,  Samuel  Eice,  resided  at  Longhor,  in  Gower,  Gla- 
morgansliire,  and  had  a  son,  Morgan  Eice,  who  was  a  mer- 
chant  in  London,  and  became  TiOrd  of  the  Ätanor  of  Tootinír 
Graveney,  and  High  Sheriff"  in  the  year  1772,  and  Deputy 
Lieutenant  of  the  county  of  Surrey,  1776.  He  resided  at 
Hill  House,  which  he  built.  At  his  death,  the  whole  of  his 
property  passed  to  his  only  child,  John  Eice,  Esq.,  whose 
eldest  son,  the  Eev.  John  Morgan  Eice,  inherited  the  greater 
portion  of  his  estates.  The  head  of  the  family  is  now  the 
Eev.  Horatio  Morgan  Eice,  rector  of  South  Hill,  with  Cal- 
lington,  Cornwall,  and  J.P.  for  the  cou.nty,  who  inherited, 
with  other  property,  a  small  estate  at  Loughor.  The  above 
Morgan  Eice  had  landed  property  in  Llanmadock  and  Llan- 
genith,  as  well  as  Loughor,  in  Gower,  but  whether  he  had 
any  connexion  with  Howel  the  Physician  (ap  Ehys  ap  Lly- 
welyn  ap  Philip  the  Physician,  and  lineal  descendant  from 
Einion  ap  Ehiwallon),  wdio  resided  at  Cilgwryd  in  Gower,  is 
not  known. 

"  Amongst  other  families  who  claim  descent  from  the  Phy- 
sicians  were  the  Bo wens  of  C wmydw,  Myddvai ;  and  Jones  of 
DoUgarreg  and  Penrhock,  in  the  same  parish ;  the  latter  of 
whom  are  represented  by  Charles  Bishop,  of  Dollgarreg,  Esq., 
Clerk  of  the  Peace  for  Caermarthenshire,  and  Thomas  Bishop, 
of  Brecon,  Esq. 

"  Eees  Williams  of  Myddvai  is  recorded  as  one  of  the 
Meddygon.  His  great  grandson  was  the  late  Eice  Williams, 
M.D.,  of  Aberystwyth,  who  died  May  16th,  1842,  aged  85, 
and  appears  to  hav6  been  the  last,  although  not  the  least 
eminent,  of  the  Physicians  descended  frora  tlie  mysterious 
Lady  of  Llyn-y-Van."^ 

This  brings  the  legend  of  the  Lady  of  the  Van  Lake  into 
connection  with  a  widely  spread  family.     There  is  another 

1  This  is  not  quite  correct,  as  I  believe  that  Dr.  C.  Rice  \\'illiams  who 
lives  at  Aberystwyth  is  one  o£  the  Meddygon. 


WELSII    FAIRY   TALES.  177 

connectiori  between  it  and  modern  times,  as  will  be  seen 
from  tlie  following  statement  kindly  made  to  me  by  the  Rev. 
A.  G.  Edwards,  Warden  of  the  Welsh  College  at  Llando- 
very  :  "  An  old  woman  from  Myddvai,  who  is  now,  that  is  to 
say,  in  January  1881,  aboiit  eighty  years  of  age,  tells  me 
that  slie  remembers  '  thoiisands  and  thousands'  of  people 
visiting  the  Lake  of  the  Little  Vaii  on  the  first  Sunday  or 
Monday  in  August,  and  when  she  was  young  she  often  heard 
old  men  declare  that  at  that  time  a  commotion  took  place  in 
the  lake,  and  that  its  waters  boiled,  which  was  taken  to 
herald  the  approach  of  the  Lake  Lady  and  her  oxen."  The 
custom  of  going  up  to  the  lake  on  the  first  Sunday  in  August 
was  a  very  well  known  one  in  years  gone  by,  as  I  have 
learned  from  a  good  many  people,  aud  it  is  corroborated 
by  Mr.  Joseph,  wlio  kindly  writes  as  foUows,  in  reply  to 
some  queries  of  mine :  "  On  the  first  Sunday  in  the  month 
of  August,  Llyn  y  Van  Vach  is  supposed  to  be  boiling 
(herìüi).  I  have  seen  scores  of  people  going  up  to  see  it  (not 
boiling  though)  on  that  day.  I  do  not  reniember  that  any 
of  them  expected  to  see  the  Lady  of  the  Lake."  As  to  the 
boiling  of  the  lake  I  have  nothiug  to  say,  and  I  am  not  sure 
that  there  is  anything  in  the  following,  which  was  offered 
to  Mr.  A.  G.  Edwards,  as  an  explanation  of  the  yearly  visit 
to  tlie  lake,  by  an  old  fìsherwoman  from  Llandovery :  "  The 
best  time  for  eels  is  in  August,  when  the  north-east  wind 
blows  on  the  lake,  and  makes  huge  waves  in  it.  The  eels 
can  then  be  seen  floating  on  the  waves." 

Last  summer  I  went  myself  to  the  vi]lage  of  Myddvai,  to 
see  if  I  could  pick  up  any  variants  of  the  legend ;  but  I  was 
hardly  successful ;  for  though  several  of  the  farmers  I  ques- 
tioned  could  repeat  bits  of  the  legend,  including  tlie  Lake 
Lady's  call  to  her  cattle  as  she  went  away,  I  got  nothing 
new,  except  that  one  of  them  said  that  the  youth,  when  he 
fìrst  saw  the  Lake  Lady  at  a  distauce,  thought  she  was  a 


178  WELSH   FAIRY   TALE3. 

goose — he  did  not  even  rise  to  the  conception  of  a  swan — 
but  that  by  degrees  he  approached  her,  and  discovered  that 
she  was  a  lady  in  white,  and  that  in  due  time  they  were 
married,  and  so  on.  My  friend,  Mr.  A.  G.  Edwards,  seems, 
however,  to  have  got  a  bit  of  a  version  which  may  have  been 
still  inore  unlike  the  one  recorded  by  Mr.  Eees  of  Tonn :  it 
was  from  an  old  man  at  Myddvai  last  year,  from  whom  he 
was,  nevertheless,  only  able  to  extract  the  statelnent  "  that  the 
Lake  Lady  got  somehow  entangied  in  a  farmer's  '  gambo',  and 
that  ever  after  his  farm  was  very  fertile" :  a  '  gambo'  is  a  kind 
of  a  cart  without  sides,  used  in  Soutli  Wales,  and  both  the 
name  and  the  thing  seem  to  have  come  from  England, 
though  I  cannot  find  such  a  word  as  gambo  or  gamhcau  iu 
the  ordinary  dictionaries. 

Among  other  legends  about  lake  fairies,  in  the  third  chapter 
of  Mr.  Sikes'  British  Goblins,  there  are  two  versions  of  this 
story :  the  first  of  them  only  slightly  differs  from  Mr.  Eees', 
in  that  the  farmer  used  to  go  near  the  lake  to  see  some  lambs 
he  had  bouglit  in  a  fair,  and  that  whenever  he  did  so,  three 
beautiful  damsels  appeared  to  him  from  the  lake;  they 
always  eluded  his  attempts  to  catch  them ;  they  ran  away 
into  the  lake,  saying,  "  Cras  dy  fara",  etc.  But  one  day,  a 
piece  of  moist  bread  came  floating  ashore,  which  he  ate,  and 
the  next  day  he  had  a  chat  with  the  Lake  Maidens.  He  pro- 
posed  marriage  to  one  of  them,  to  which  she  consented,  pro- 
vided  he  could  distinguish  her  from  lier  sisters  the  day  after. 
The  story,  then,  so  far  as  I  can  make  out,  from  the  brief 
version  Mr.  Sikes  gives  of  it,  went  on  like  that  of  Mr.  Eees. 
He  gives  another  version,  with  mucli  more  interesting  varia- 
tions,  which  omit  all  reference,  however,  to  the  physicians 
of  ]\Iyddvai,  and  relate  how  a  young  farmer  had  heard  of 
the  Lake  INIaiden  rowing  up  and  down  the  lake  in  a  golden 
boat  with  a  golden  oar.  He  went  to  the  lake  on  New  Year's 
Eve,  saw  her,  was  fascinated  by  her,  and  left  in  despair  at 


WELSII   FAIRY  TALES.  179 

her  Yanisliiüg  out  of  sigbt,  although  he  cried  out  to  her  to 
stay  and  be  his  wife :  she  faintly  replied,  and  went  her  way, 
after  he  had  gazed  on  her  long  yellow  liair  and  pale  melan- 
choly  face.  He  continued  to  visit  the  lake,  and  grew  thin 
and  negligent  of  his  person,  owing  to  his  longing.  But  a 
wise  man,  wlio  lived  on  the  mountain,  advised  hini  to  tempt 
her  witli  gifts  of  bread  and  cheese,  wliich  he  undertook  to 
do  on  Midsummer  Eve,  when  he  dropped  into  tlie  lake  a 
large  cheese  and  a  loaf  of  bread.  This  lie  did  repeatedly, 
when  at  last  his  hopes  were  fulfîlled  on  New  Year's  Eve. 
This  time  he  had  gone  to  the  lake  clad  in  his  best  suit,  and 
at  midnight  dropped  seven  white  loaves  and  liis  biggest  and 
finest  cheese  into  the  lake.  The  Lake  Lady  by  and  by  came 
in  her  skiff  where  he  was,  and  gracefully  stepped  ashore. 
The  scene  need  not  be  further  described :  Mr.  Sikes  gives  a 
picture  of  it,  aud  the  story  then  proceeds  as  in  the  other 
version. 

II.  Geirionydd. 

On  returning  from  South  Wales  to  Carnarvonshire,  last 
summer,  I  tried  to  discover  sirnilar  legends  in  connectiou 
with  the  lakes  of  North  Wales,  beginning  with  Geirionydd, 
the  waters  of  which  form  a  stream  emptying  itself  into  the 
Conwy,  near  Trefriw,  a  little  below  Llanrwst.  I  only  suc- 
ceeded,  however,  in  finding  an  old  man  of  the  nanie  of  Pierce 
Williams,  about  seventy  years  of  age,  wlio  was  very  anxious 
to  talk  about  "  Bony's"  wars,  but  not  about  lake  ladies.  I 
was  oljliged,  in  trying  to  make  him  nnderstand  what  I 
wanted,  to  use  the  word  morfoncyn,  that  is  to  say  in  Eng- 
lish,  a  mernuiid ;  he  then  told  me,  that  in  his  younger  days, 
he  liad  lieard  people  say  tliat  somebody  had  seen  such  beings 
iu  the  Trefriw  river.  But  as  my  questions  were  leading 
ones,  his  evidence  is  not  wortli  much ;  however,  I  feel  pretty 
sure  that  onr  who  kuL'w  tlio  iiciglibdiirliood  better,  such  for 
VOL.  IV.  0 


180  WELSH    FAIlíY    TALES. 

instance  íis  the  l)artl  Gwilym  Cowlyd,  would  be  able  to  find 
some  fragments  of  interesting  legends  still  existing  in  tliat 
weird  district. 

III.  Llanberis — Llyn  Du'ií  Arddu,  etc. 

I  was  more  successful  at  Llanberis,  tliougli  what  I  found, 
at  first,  was  not  much ;  but  it  was  genuine,  and  to  tìie  point. 
This  is  the  substance  of  it : — An  old  woman,  called  Sian 
Dafydd,  lived  at  Helfa  Fawr,  in  the  dingle  called  Cwm 
Brwynog,  along  the  left  side  of  which  you  ascend  as  you  go 
to  the  top  of  Snowdon,  from  the  village  of  lower  Llanberis, 
or  Coed  y  Ddol,  as  it  is  there  called.  She  was  a  curious  old 
person,  who  made  nice  distinctions  between  the  respective 
YÌrtues  of  the  waters  of  that  district ;  thus,  no  otlier  would 
do  for  her  to  cure  her  of  the  defaid  gv)ylltion  or  warts,  she 
fancied  she  had  in  her  niouth,  than  that  of  the  spring  of 
Tai  Bacli,  near  the  lake  called  '  Llyn  Ffynhon  y  Gwas,' 
though  she  seldom  found  it  out,  wdien  she  was  deceived  by 
a  servant  who  cherished  a  convenient  opinion  of  his  own, 
that  a  drop  fronr  a  nearer  spring  would  do  quite  as  well. 
Old  Sian  has  been  dead  over  thirty-five  years,  but  I  haA^e 
it,  on  the  testimony  of  two  highly  trustworthy  brothers,  who 
are  of  her  family,  and  now  between  sixty  and  seventy 
years  of  age,  that  she  used  to  relate  to  them  how  a  shepherd, 
once  on  a  time,  saw  a  fairy  maiden  {un  or  Tylwyth  Teg)  on 
the  surface  of  the  tarn  called  '  Llyn  Du'r  Arddu,'  and  how, , 
from  bantering  and  playing,  their  acquaintance  ripened  into 
courtship,  wlien  the  father  and  mother  of  the  Lake  Maiden 
appeared  to  give  tlieir  sanction,  and  to  arrange  the  marriage 
settlement.  This  was  to  the  effect  that  he  was  never  to 
strike  her  with  iron,  and  that  she  was  to  bring  lier  great 
wealth  with  her,  consisting  of  stock  of  all  kinds  for  his 
mountain  farm.  AU  duly  took  place,  and  they  lived  happily 
together,  until  one  dny,  when  trying  to  catch  a  pony,  the 


WELSII   FAIRY  TALES.  181 

Imsband  llir(.í\v  ;i  lìriillc  to  liis  wife,  and  tlie  iroii  in  tliat 
striick  lier.  It  was  then  all  over  with  him,  and  she  luirried 
away  with  her  property  into  the  lake,  so  that  nothing  niore 
was  seen  or  heard  of  her.  Here  I  may  as  well  explain  that 
the  Llanberis  side  of  the  steep,  near  the  top  of  Snowdon,  is 
called  '  Clogwyn  du'r  Arddu,'  or  the  bLack  cliff  of  the  Arddu, 
at  the  bottom  of  which  lies  the  tarn  alhided  to,  or  the  l:)lack 
lake  of  the  Arddu,  and  near  it  stands  a  huge  boulder,  called 
'  Maen  du'r  Arddu,'  or  the  black  stone  of  the  Arddu,  all  of 
which  names  are  curious,  as  involving  the  word  du,  black, 
although  'Arddu'  itself  seems  to  have  nearly  the  sarae  mean- 
ing,  in  allusion,  probably,  to  the  dark  shadow  cast  by  that 
terrible  stretch  of  precipices.  One  of  the  brothers,  I  ought 
to  have  said,  doubts  that  the  lake  here  mentioned  was  the 
one  in  old  Sian's  tale ;  but  he  has  forgotten  which  it  was  of 
the  many  in  the  neighbourhood.  Both,  however,  remem- 
bered  another  short  story  about  the  Fairies,  wdiich  they 
had  lieard  another  old  woman  relate,  namely,  Mary 
Domos  Sion,  who  died  some  thirty  years  ago :  it  was  merely 
to  the  effect  that  a  shepherd  had  once  lost  his  way  in  the 
mist  on  the  mountain  on  tlie  land  of  Caeau  Gwynion, 
towards  Cwellyn  lake,  and  got  into  a  ring  where  the  TjjìinìifJb 
Tcg  were  dancing :  it  was  only  after  a  very  hard  struggle, 
that  he  was  able,  at  length,  to  get  away  from  them. 

Tü  this  I  may  add  the  testimony  of  a  lady,  for  whose 
veracity  1  can  vouch,  to  the  effect  that,  when  she  was  a 
child  in  Cwm  lìrwynog,  from  tliirty  to  forty  years  ago,  she 
and  lier  brothers  and  sisters  used  to  be  frec[uently  wnrned  liy 
tlieir  mother  not  to  go  far  away  from  the  house  when  tliere 
happened  to  be  thick  mist  on  the  ground,  lest  they  should 
come  across  tlie  TylMyth  Tccj  dancing,  and  be  carried  away 
by  them  into  their  abode  beneath  the  lake;  tliey  were  alwaj^s, 
she  says,  supposed  to  live  in  the  lakes;  and  the  one  here 
alluded   to  was   Llyn    Twythwch,  which   is   one   of    those 

o2 


182  WELSH  FAIKY  TALES. 

fainous  for  its  torgochiaid  or  cliars.  The  motlier  is  stiU 
living,  but  slie  seems  to  liave  long  since,  like  others,  lost  her 
belief  in  tlie  Fairies. 

After  writing  the  above,  I  heard  that  a  brother  to  the  fore- 
goiiig  brothers,  namely,  Mr.  Thomas  Davies  of  Mar  Mawr, 
Llanberis,  rememberecl  a  similar  tale.  Mr.  Davies  is  now 
sixty-four,  and  the  persons  he  heard  the  tale  from  were  the 
same  Sian  Dafydd  of  Helfa  Fawr,  and  Mary  Domos  Sion  of 
Ty'n  Gadlas,  Llanljeris;  they  were  about  seventy  years  of  age 
when  he  heard  it  from  them,  and  this,  he  thinks,  would  now 
be  about  sixty  years  ago.  At  my  rec|uest,  a  friencl  of  mine, 
Mr.  Hugh  D.  Jones  of  Ty'n  Gadlas,  who  is  also  a  member  of 
this  family,  wliich  is  one  of  the  oldest  perhaps  in  the  place, 
has  taken  down  from  Mr.  Davies's  mouth  all  lie  could  re- 
member,  word  for  word,  as  follows — 

"Yn  perthyn  i  ffarm  Bron  y  Fedw  yr  oedd  dyn  ifangc 
wedi  cael  ei  fagu,  nis  gwyddent  faint  cyn  eu  hamser  liwy. 
Arferai  pan  yn  hogyn  fyud  i'r  mynydd  yn  Cwm  Drywenydd  a 
Mynydd  y  Fedw  ar  ochr  orllewinol  y  Wyddfa  i  fugeilio,  a 
byddai  yn  taro  ar  liogan  yn  y  mynydd;  ac  wrth  fynychu 
gweled  eu  gilydd  aethant  yn  ffrindiau  mawr.  Arferent  gyf- 
arfod  eu  gilydcl  mewn  lle  neillduol  yn  Cwm  Drywenydd,  lle  yr 
oedd  yr  hogan  a'r  teulu  yn  byw,  lle  y  byddai  pob  danteithion, 
chwareuyddiaethau  a  chanu  dihafal ;  ond  ni  fyddai  yr  hogyn 
yn  gwneyd  i  fyny  a  neb  ohonynt  ond  yr  liogan. 

"Diwedd  y  fírindiaeth  fu  carwriaeth,  a  phan  soniodd  yr 
hogyn  am  iddi  briodi,  ni  wnai  ond  ar  un  ammod,  sef  y  bywiai 
hi  hefo  fo  hyd  nes  y  tarawai  ef  hi  a  haiarn. 

"Priodwyd  hwy,  a  buont  byw  gyda'u  gilydd  am  nifer  o 
flynyddoedd,  a  bu  iddynt  blant ;  ac  ar  ddydd  marchnad  yn 
Caernarfou  yr  oedd  y  gAvr  a'r  wraig  yn  medd^d  myned  i'r 
farchnad  ar  gefn  merlod,  fel  pob  ffarmwr  yr  amser  hwnw, 
Awd  i'r  mynydd  i  ddal  merlyn  bob  un. 

"  Ar  waelod  Mynydd  y  Fedw  mae  llyn  o  ryw  GO  neu  gan 


WELSH  FAIRY  TALES.  183 

llatli  0  hyd  ac  20  neii  30  llatli  o  led,  ac  y  mae  ar  un  oclir  iddo 
le  têg,  ffordd  y  byddai  y  ceffylau  yn  rhedeg. 

"  Daliodd  y  gŵr  ferlyu  a  rhoes  ef  i'r  wraig  i'w  ddal  heb  ffrwyn, 
tra  byddai  ef  yn  dal  nierlyn  arall.  Ar  ol  rhoi  ffrwyn  yn 
mhen  ei  ferlyn  ei  hun,  taílodd  un  arall  i'r  wraig  i  roi  yn  mhen 
ei  merlyn  hithau,  ac  wrth  ei  thafiu  tarawodd  hit  y  ffrwyn  hi 
yn  ei  Uaw.  Gollyngodd  y  wräig  y  merlyn,  ac  aeth  ar  ei  phen 
i'r  llyn,  a  dyna  ddiwedd  y  briodas." 

"  To  the  farm  of  Bron  y  Fedw  there  belonged  a  son,  who 
grew  up  to  be  a  young  man,  they  knew  not  how  long  before 
their  time,  He  was  in  the  habit  of  going  up  the  smountain 
to  Cwm  Drywenydd  and  Mynydd  y  Fedw,  on  the  west  side 
of  Snowdon,  to  do  the  shepherding,  and  there  he  was  wont 
to  come  across  a  lass  on  the  mountain;  so  that  by  frequently 
meeting  one  another,  they  became  great  friends.  They 
usually  met  at  a  particular  spot  in  Cwm  Drywenydd,  where 
the  girl  and  her  family  lived,  and  where  there  were  all  kinds 
of  nice  things  to  eat,  of  amusements  and  of  incomparable 
music ;  but  he  did  not  cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  anybody 
there  except  the  girl's.  The  friendship  ended  in  courtship ; 
but  when  the  boy  mentioned  that  she  should  be  married  to 
him,  she  would  only  do  so  on  one  condition,  namely,  that 
she  should  live  with  him  untü  he  sliould  strike  her  with 
iron.  They  were  wedded,  and  they  lived  together  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  had  children.  Once  on  a  time 
it  happened  to  be  market  day  at  Carnarvon,  w^hither  the 
husband  and  wife  thought  of  going  on  their  ponies,  like  all 
the  farmers  of  the  time.  So  they  %vent  to  the  mountain  to 
catch  a  pony  each.  At  the  bottom  of  Mynydd  y  Fedw,  tliere 
is  a  pool  some  sixty  or  one  hundred  yards  long  by  twenty  or 
thirty  broad,  and  on  the  one  side  of  it  there  is  a  level  space 
along  which  the  horses  used  to  run.     Tlie  husband  cauírht  a 

o  o 

pony,  and  gave  it  to  the  wife  to  hold  fast  without  a  bridle, 
Mhile  he  should  catch  another.     When  hc  had  bridled  liis 


184  WELSH  FAIRY  TALES, 

own  pony,  lie  tlirew  anotlier  bridle  to  his  wife  for  her  to 
secure  hers ;  but  as  he  threw  it,  the  bit  of  the  bridle  struck 
her  on  one  of  her  hands.  The  wife  let  go  the  pony,  and 
went  headlong  into  the  pool,  and  that  was  the  end  of  their 
wedded  life." 

The  foUowing  is  a  later  tale,  which  Mr.  Davies  heard 
froni  his  mother,  who  died  in  1832,  and  who  would  be  now 
ninety  years  of  age  had  she  been  still  living. 

"  Pan  oedd  hi  yn  hogan  yn  yr  Hafod,  Llanberis,  yr  oedd 
hogan  at  ei  lioed  yn  cael  ei  magu  yn  Cwmglas,  Llanberis,  a 
arferai  ddweyd,  pan  yn  hogan,  a  thra  y  bu  byw,  y  byddai  yn 
cael  arian  gan  y  Tylwyth  Teg  yn  Cwm  Cwmglas. 

"  Yr  oedd  yn  dweyd  y  byddai  ar  foreuau  niwliog,  tywyll,  yn 
myned  i  le  penodol  yn  Cwm  Cwmglas  gyda  jugiad  o  lefrith 
o'r  fuches  a  thywel  glan,  ac  yn  ei  roddi  ar  gareg;  ac  yn  myned 
yno  drachefn,  ac  yn  cael  y  Uestr  yn  wâg,  gyda  darn  dau- 
swUt  neu  lianer  coron  ac  weithiau  fwy  wrth  ei  ochr.'^ 

"When  she  was  a  girl,  living  at  Yr  Hafod,  Llanberis, 
there  was  a  girl  of  her  age  being  brought  up  at  Cwmglas,  in 
the  same  parish.  The  latter  was  in  the  habit  of  saying, 
when  she  was  a  girl,  and  so  long  as  she  lived,  that 
she  used  to  have  money  from  the  Tylwyth  Teg,  in  the 
cwni  of  Cwmgias.  Her  account  was,  that  on  misty 
mornings  she  used  to  go  to  a  particular  spot  in  that 
cwm  with  a  jng  fuU  of  sweet  milk  from  the  niilking  place, 
and  a  clean  towel,  and  theu  place  them  on  a  stone.  She 
would  return,  and  find  the  jug  empty,  with  a  piece  of  nioney 
placed  by  its  side ;  that  is,  two  sldUings  or  half-a-crown,  or 
at  times  even  more." 

A  daughter  of  this  woman  lives  now  at  a  farni,  J\Tr.  Davies 
observes,  called  Flas  Pennant,  in  the  parish  of  Llanfihangel 
yn  Mhennant,  in  Carnarvonshire ;  and  he  adds,  that  it  was 
a  tale  of  a  kind  that  was  commou  enough  wlien  he  was  a 
boy ;  but  many  laughed  at  it,  thongh  the  old  people  beUeved 


WHLSII   1-AIliY  TALES.  185 

it  to  be  a  fact.  To  this  I  may  as  well  append  anotlier  talo, 
which  was  brouglit  to  the  memory  of  an  old  man  M'ho  hap- 
pened  to  be  present  when  Mr.  Jones  and  Älr.  Davies  were 
busy  with  the  foregoing.  His  name  is  John  lioberts,  and 
liis  age  is  seventy-five :  his  present  home  is  at  Capel  Sion, 
in  the  neighbouring  parish  of  Llanddeiniolen  : — 

"  Yr  oedd  ef  pan  yn  hogyn  yu  gweini  yn  Towyn  Trewern, 
yn  agos  i  Gaergybi,  gyda  heu  wr  o'r  enw  Owen  Oweus,  yr 
hwn  oedd  yr  adeg  hono  at  ei  oed  ef  yn  bresenuol. 

"  Yr  oeddynt  uuwaith  mewu  heu  adeilad  ar  y  ffarm ;  a 
dywedodd  yr  heu  wr  ei  fod  ef  wedi  cael  llawer  o  ariau  yu  y 
lle  hwnw  pau  yu  hogyn,  a  buasai  wedi  cael  ychwaueg  oui 
bai  ei  dad. 

"  Yr  oedd  wedi  cuddio  yr  ariau  yu  y  ty,  oud  daeth  ei  fam  o 
hyd  iddynt,  a  dywedodd  yr  haues  wrth  ei  dad.  Ofuai  ei  fod  yu 
fachgeu  drwg,  mai  eu  lladratta  yr  oedd.  Dywedai  ei  dâd  y 
gwuai  iddo  ddweyd  yn  mha  le  yr  oedd  yu  eu  cael,  ueu  y  tyuai 
ei  groen  tros  ei  ben ;  ac  aeth  allan  a  thorodd  wialeu  bwrpasol 
at  orchwyl  o'r  fath. 

"  Yr  oedd  y  bachgeu  yu  gwraudo  jr  ymddiddan  rhwng  ei  dad 
a'i  fam,  ac  yr  oedd  yn  benderfynol  o  gadw  y  peth  yu  ddir- 
gelwch  fel  yr  oedd  wedi  ei  rybuddio  gau  y  Tylwyth  Teg. 

"  Aeth  i'r  tŷ,  a  dechrenodd  y  tâd  ei  holi,  ac  yutau  yn 
gwrthod  atteb ;  jTiibiliai  a'i  dâd,  a  dywedai  eu  bod  yu 
berffaith  ouest  iddo  ef,  ac  y  cai  ef  ychwaneg  os  cadwai  y  petli 
yn  ddirgelwch  ;  ond  os  dywedai  uad  oedd  dim  ychwaneg  Pw 
gael.  Modd  bynnag  ni  wrandawai  y  tâd  ar  ei  esgusion  na'i 
resymau,  a'r  wialen  a  orfu ;  dywedodd  y  bachgen  mai  gan  y 
Tylwy th  Teg  yr  oedd  yu  eu  cael,  a  hyuy  ar  yr  ammod  nad  oedd 
i  ddweyd  wrth  neb.  Mawr  oedd  edifeirwch  yr  hen  bobl  am 
*  ladd  yr  wydd  oedd  yn  dodwy'. 

"  Aeth  y  bachgen  i'r  hen  adeilad  lawer  gwaitli  ar  ol  hyn, 
ond  ui  chafodd  byth  ychwaueg  o  ariau  yuo." 

"When  a  lad,  hu  was  servaut  at  Towvu  Trewern,  near 


186  WELSH  FAIRY  TALES. 

Holyhead,  to  aii  old  man  about  liis  own  age  at  present.  They 
were  one  day  in  an  old  building  on  tlie  farm,  and  the  old 
man  told  him,  that  he  liad  had  much  money  in  that  place 
wdien  he  was  a  lad,  and  that  he  wonld  have  had  more  had 
it  uot  been  for  his  father.  He  had  hidden  tlie  money  at 
home,  when  his  mother  found  it  and  told  his  father  of  the 
affair :  she  feared  he  was  a  bad  boy,  and  that  it  was  by 
theft  he  got  it.  His  father  said  that  he  would  make  him  say 
where  he  got  it,  or  else  that  he  would  strip  him  of  the  skin 
of  his  back,  at  the  same  time  that  he  went  out  and  cut  a  rod 
fit  for  effecting  a  purpose  of  the  kind.  The  boy  heard  all 
this  talk  between  his  father  and  motlier,  and  felt  determined 
to  keep  the  matter  a  secret,  as  he  had  been  warned  by  the 
Tylwyth  Teg.  He  w^ent  into  the  house,  and  his  father  began 
to  question  him,  while  he  refused  to  answer.  He  suppli- 
catingly  protested  that  the  money  was  honestly  got,  and  that 
he  should  get  more  if  he  kept  it  a  secret,  but  that,  if  he  did 
not,  there  would  be  no  more  to  be  got.  However,  the  father 
would  give  no  ear  to  his  excuses  or  his  reasons,  and  the  rod 
prevailed;  so  that  the  boy  said  that  it  was  from  the  Tylwyth 
Teg  he  used  to  get  it,  and  that  on  condition  of  his  not  telling 
anybüdy.  Greatly  did  the  old  folks  regret  having  killed 
the  goose  that  laid  the  eggs.  The  boy  went  many  a  time 
afterwards  to  tlie  old  building,  but  he  never  had  any  more 
money  there." 

IV.  Bettws  and  Waenfawr  Yeesions. 

Through  the  Eev.  Daniel  Lewis,  incumbent  of  Bettws 
Garmon,  I  was  directed  to  Mr.  Samuel  Ehys  Williams,  of  the 
Post  Offìce  of  that  place,  who  has  hindly  given  me  tlie  results 
of  his  inquiries  when  writing  on  the  subject  of  the  anti- 
quities  of  the  neighbourhood  for  a  competitiou  at  a  literary 
nieeting  lield  there  a  few  years  ago.    He  tells  me  that  he  got 


WELSII   FAIUY   TALES.  187 

tlie  following  sliort  tale  froni  a  native  of  Drws  y  Coed,  whose 
name  is  ]Vrargaret  Williams.  Slie  lias  been  living  at  Bettws 
Garmon  for  mauy  years,  and  is  now  over  eighty.  He  does 
not  know  whether  the  story  is  in  priut  or  not,  Lut  he  is  cer- 
taiu  that  Margaret  AYilliams  uever  saw  it,  if  it  bc.  He 
further  thiuks  he  has  heard  it  froni  auother  person,  a  man 
over  seveuty-seven  years  of  age,  who  has  always  lived  at 
Drws  y  Coed,  in  the  parish  of  Beddgelert : — 

"  Y  mae  hanes  am  fab  i  amaethwr  a  breswyliai  yn  yr  Ystrad, 
Bettws  Garmou,  pau  yn  dycliwelyd  adref  o  daith  ar  awr  hwyr 
un  noswaith,  ddarfod  iddo  weled  cwmni  o'r  Tylwythion  Teg 
yughauol  eu  hafiaeth  a'u  gloddest.  Syfrdauwyd  y  llanc  yu  y 
fau  gan  degwch  anghymarol  uu  o'r  rhiauod  hyn,  fel  y  beidd- 
iudd  neidio  i  gauol  y  cylch,  a  chymeryd  ei  eiluu  gydag  ef. 
AVedi  iddi  fod  yn  trigo  gydag  ef  yu  ei  gartref  am  ysbaid, 
cafodd  ganddi  addaw  bod  yn  wraig  iddo  ar  ammodau  neillduol. 
Un  o^r  ammodau  hyu  ydoedd,  na  byddai  iddo  gyffwrdd  ynddi 
ag  un  math  o  haiarn.  Bu  yu  wraig  iddo,  a  gauwyd  iddyut 
ddau  0  blaut.  Uu  diwrnod,  yr  oedd  y  gwr  yu  y  maes  yn 
ceisio  dal  y  ceffyl ;  wrth  ei  weled  yn  ffaelu,  aeth  y  wraig  atto 
i'w  gynnorthwyo,  a  phau  oedd  y  march  yu  carlamu  heibio 
gollyngodd  yntau  y  fí'rwyn  o^i  law,  er  mwyn  ceisio  ei  attal 
heibio ;  a  phwy  a  darawodd  oud  ei  wraig,  yr  hou  a  ddiflanodd 
yn  y  fan  allau  o'i  olwg  ?" 

"  The  story  goes,  that  the  son  of  a  farmer,  who  lived  at 
Ystrad,  Bettws  Garmon,  when  returuiug  liome  from  a  jouruey, 
late  in  the  evening,  beheld  a  company  of  fairies  in  the  middle 
of  their  mirth  aud  jollity.  The  youth  was  at  once  bewildered 
by  tlie  iuconiparable  beauty  of  onc  of  these  ladies,  so  that 
he  ventured  to  leap  iuto  the  circle  aud  take  his  idol  away 
with  hiui.  After  she  had  tarried  a  while  with  him  at  his 
home,  he  prevailed  ou  lier  to  become  his  wife  on  special  con- 
ditious.  One  of  these  couditious  was  that  lie  should  not 
touch  her  with  irou  of  uuy  descriptiou.     She  became  his 


188  WELSH   FAIRY  TALES. 

wife,  and  two  cliildren  were  born  to  them.  One  day  tlie 
husband  was  in  the  field  trying  to  catch  the  horse ;  seeing 
him  nnsuccessful,  the  wife  went  to  him  to  help  him,  and, 
when  the  horse  was  galloping  past  him,  he  let  go  the  bridle 
at  him  in  order  to  prevent  him  from  passing ;  but  whom 
should  he  strike  but  his  wife,  who  vanished  out  of  his  siíîht 
on  the  spot." 

Just  in  time  a  correspondent  sends  me  a  copy  of  the 
Ystrad  tale  as  published  by  the  late  bard  and  antiquary, 
Glasynys,  in  the  Brython  for  1863,  p.  193.  I  will  not 
attempt  to  translate  Glasynys'  poetic  prose  with  all  its  com- 
pound  adjectives,  but  it  comes  to  this  in  a  few  words.  One 
fìne  sunny  morning,  as  the  young  heir  of  Ystrad  was  busied 
with  his  sheep  on  the  side  of  Moel  Eilio,  he  met  a  very 
pretty  girl,  and  when  he  got  home  he  told  the  folks  there  of 
it.  A  few  days  afterwards  he  met  her  again,  and  this  happened 
several  times,  when  he  mentioned  it  to  his  father,  who 
advised  him  to  seize  her  when  he  next  met  her.  The  next 
time  he  met  her  he  proceeded  to  do  so,  but  before  he  could 
take  her  away,  a  little  fat  old  man  came  to  them  and  begged 
hini  to  give  her  back  to  him,  to  which  the  youtli  would  not 
listen.  The  little  man  uttered  terrible  threats,  but  he 
would  not  yield,  so  an  agreement  was  made  between  them, 
that  he  was  to  have  her  to  wife  until  lie  touched  her  skin 
with  iron,  and  great  was  tlie  joy  both  of  the  sou  and  liis 
parents  in  consequence.  They  lived  together  for  many 
years,  but  once  on  a  time  on  the  evening  of  the  Bettws 
Fair,  the  wife's  horse  got  restive,  and  somehow,  as  the  hus- 
band  was  attending  to  the  horse,  the  stirrup  touched  tlie 
skin  of  her  bare  leg,  and  that  very  night  she  was  taken 
away  from  him.  She  had  three  or  four  children,  and  more 
than  one  of  their  descendants,  as  Glasynys  maintains,  were 
known  to  him  at  tlie  time  he  wrote  in  18G3.  Glasynys 
regards  this  as  the  same  tale  which  is  given  by  WiUiams  of 


\VKLSI1    FAIUY   TALES.  18'J 

Llaiidegai,  to  wliom  we  shall  refer  later ;  and  lie  says  tliat  lic 
liad  lieard  it  scores  of  tiiiies  when  he  was  a  lad. 

Lastly,  I  happened  to  mention  these  legends  last  summer 
among  others  to  the  Iîev.  üwen  Davies,  curate  of  Llanberis, 
a  man  who  is  well  versed  in  Welsh  literature,  and  thoroughly 
in  sympathy  with  everything  "Welsh.  Mr.  Davies  told  me 
that  he  knew  a  tale  of  the  sort  from  his  youth,  as  current  in 
the  parishes  of  Lhmllechid  and  Llandegai,  near  Bangor. 
Not  long  afterwards  he  visited  his  motlier  at  his  native 
phice,  in  Llanllechid,  in  order  to  have  his  niemory  of  it 
refreshed  ;  and  he  also  went  to  Waenfawr,  on  the  other  side 
of  Carnarvon,  where  he  had  the  same  legend  told  him  with 
different  localities  specifìed.  The  following  is  the  Waen- 
fawr  version,  of  which  I  give  the  Welsh  as  I  have  had  it 
from  j\Ir.  Davies,  and  as  it  was  related,  according  to  him, 
some  furty  years  ago  in  the  valley  of  Nant  y  Bettws,  near 
Carnarvon. 

"  Ar  brydnawugwaith  hyfryd  yn  Heíìn,  aeth  llangc  ieuangc 
gwrol-ddewr  ac  anturiaethus,  sef  etifedd  a  pherchenog  yr 
Ystrad,  i  lan  afon  Gwyrfai,  heb  fod  yn  neppell  o'i  chychwyn- 
iad  o  lyn  Cawellyn,  ac  a  ymguddiodd  yno  mewn  dyryslwyn, 
sef  ger  y  fan  y  byddai  poblach  y  cotiau  cochion — y  Tylicyth 
têíj,  yn  arfer  dawnsio.  Yr  ydoedd  yn  noswaith  hyfryd 
loerganog,  heb  un  cwmwl  i  gau  llygaid  y  Lloer,  ac  anian  yn 
ddistaw  dawedog,  oddigerth  murmuriad  lleddf  y  Wyrfai,  a 
swn  yr  awel  ysgafndroed  yn  rhodio  brigau  deiliog  y  coed. 
Ni  bu  yn  ei  ymguddfa  ond  dros  ychydig  amser,  cyn  cael 
difyru  o  honno  ei  olygon  â  dawns  y  teulu  dedwydd.  Wrth 
syllu  ar  gywreinrwydd  y  ddawns,  y  chwim  droadau  cyflynij  yr 
ymgyniweiriad  ysgafn-droediog,  tarawodd  ei  lygaid  ar  lâs  lodes 
ieuangc,  dlysaf,  harddaf,  a'r  lunieiddiaf  a  welodd  er  ei  febyd. 
Yr  oedd  ei  chwim  droadau  a  lledneisrwydd  ei  hagweddion 
wedi  tanio  ei  serch  tu  ag  atti  i'r  fath  raddau,  fel  ag  yr  oedd  yu 
barod  i  unrhyw  anturiaeth  er  niw\n  ei  hennill  yn  gydymailh 


190  WELSII   FAIRY  TALES. 

idJo  ei  liim.  O'i  ymguddfa  dywyll,  yr  oedd  yii  gwylio  pob 
ysgogiad  er  mwyu  ei  gyfleustra  ei  liuu,  fel  y  Beujaminiaid 
gynt.  Mewn  mynud,  yn  ddisymwtli  ddigon,  rhwng  pryder  ac 
ofn,  llamneidiodd  fel  llew  gwrol  i  ganol  cylcli  y  Tylwytli  teg, 
ac  ymafaelodd  â  dwylaw  cariad  yn  y  fun  luniaidd  a  daniodd  ei 
serch,  a  hynny,  pan  oedd  y  Tylwyth  dedwydd  yn  nghanol 
nwyfìant  eu  dawns.  Cofleidiodd  hi  yn  dyner  garedig  yn  ei 
fynwes  wresog,  ac  aeth  a  hi  i'w  gartref — i'r  Ystrad.  Ond 
diflanodd  ei  chyd-ddawnsyddion  fel  anadl  Gorphenaf,  er  ei 
chroch  ddolefau  am  gael  ei  rhyddhau,  a'i  hymegnion  diflino  i 
ddiangc  o  afael  yr  hwn  a'i  hofíbdd.  Mewn  anwylder  mawr, 
ymddygodd  y  llangc  yn  dyner  odiaethol  tu  ag  at  y  fun  dêg,  ac 
yr  oedd  yn  orawyddus  i'w  chadw  yn  ei  olwg  acyn  ei  feddiant. 
Llwyddodd  drwy  ei  dynerwch  tu  ag  ati  i  gael  ganddi  addaw 
dyfod  yn  forwyn  iddo  yn  yr  Ystrad.  A  morwyn  ragorol 
oedd  hi.  Godrai  deirgwaith  y  swm  arf  erol  o  laeth  oddiar 
bob  buwch,  ac  yr  oedd  yr  ymenyn  heb  bwys  arno.  Ond  er 
ei  holl  daerni,  nis  gallai  mewn  un  modd  gael  ganddi  ddyweud 
ei  henw  wrtho.  Gwnaeth  lawer  cais,  ond  yn  gwbl  ofer. 
Yn  ddamweiuiol  ryw  dro,  wrth  yru 

Brithen  a'r  Benweu  i'r  borfa, 
a  hi  yn  noswaith  loergan,  efe  a  aeth  i'r  man  lle  yr  arferai 
y  Tylwyth  teg  fyned  drwy  eu  camipau  yng  ngoleuni  y  Lloer 
wen.  Y  tro  hwn  etto,  efe  a  ymguddiodd  mewn  dyryslwyn,  a 
chlywodd  y  Tylwyth  teg  yn  dywedyd  y  naiU  wrth  y  llall — 
'  Pan  oeddym  ni  yn  y  lle  hwn  y  tro  diweddaf,  dygwyd  ein 
chwaer  Penelope  oddiarnom  gan  un  o'r  marwolion'.  Ar 
hynny,  dychwelodd  y  Uengcyn  adref,  a^i  fynwes  yn  Uawn  o 
falchder  cariad,  o  herwydd  iddo  gael  gwybod  enw  ei  hoff 
forwyn,  yr  hon  a  synodd  yn  aruthr,  pan  glywodd  ei  meistr 
ieuaugc  yn  ei  galw  wrth  ei  henw.  Ac  am  ei  bod  yn  odiaeth- 
ol  dlos,  a  Uuniaidd,  yn  fywiog-weithgar,  a  medrus  ar  bob 
gwaith,  a  bod  poppeth  yn  Uwyddo  dan  ei  Uaw,  cynnygiodd  ei 
hun  iddi  yn  wr—  y  cehii  íbd  yn  feistres  yr  Ystrad,  yn  Ue  bod 


WELSII   FAIIíY  TALES.  191 

yn  forwyn.  Ond  ni  chydsyniai  lii  a'i  gais  ar  nn  cyfrif ;  ond 
bod  braidd  yn  bendrist  oherwydd  iddo  wybod  ei  henw.  Fodd 
bynnag,  gwedi  maith  amser,  a  thrwy  ei  daerineb  diílino, 
cydsyniodd,  ond  yn  ammodol.  Addawodd  ddyfod  yn  M'raig 
iddo,  ar  yr  ammod  canlynol,  sef, '  Pa  bryd  bynnag  y  tarawai  ef 
hi  â  haiarn,  yr  ehai  ymaith  oddi  wrtho,  ac  na  ddychwelai  byth 
atto  mwy'.  Sicrhawyd  yr  ammod  o'i  du  yntau  gyd  a  pharod- 
rwydd  cariad.  Buont  yn  cyd-fyw  a'u  gilydd  yn  hapus  a 
chysurus,  lav>^er  o  flynyddoedd,  a  ganwyd  iddynt  fab  a  merch, 
y  rhai  oeddynt  dlysaf  a  Ihmeiddiaf  yn  yr  holl  froydd.  Ac  yn 
rhinwedd  ei  medrusrwyd  a'i  deheurwydd  fel  gwraig  gall,  rin- 
weddol,aethantyn  gyfoethog  iawn — yn  gyfoethocach  na  neb  yn 
yr  holl  wlad.  Heblaw  ei  etifeddiaeth  ei  hun — Yr  Ystrad,  yr 
oedd  yn  ftarmio  hoU  ogledd-barth  ISTant  y  Bettws,  ac  oddi  yno 
i  ben  yr  AYyddfa,  ynghyd  a  holl  Gwmbrwynog,  yn  mhlwyf 
Llanberis.  Ond,  ryw  ddiwrnod,  yn  anífortunus  ddigon  aeth 
y  ddau  i'r  ddôl  i  ddal  y  ceffyl,  a  chan  fod  y  ceffylyn  braidd  yn 
wyllt  ac  annof,  yn  rhedeg  oddi  arnynt,  taflodd  y  gwr  y  ffrwyn 
mewn  gwj^lltineb  yn  ei  erbyn,  er  ei  attal,  ac  ar  bwy  y  dis- 
gynodd  y  ffrwyn,  ond  ar  Penelope,y  wraig !  Diflanodd  Penelope 
yn  y  fan,  ac  ni  welodd  byth  mo  honi.  Ond  ryw  noswaith, 
a'r  gwynt  yn  chwythu  yn  oer  o'r  gogledd,  daeth  Penelope  at 
ffenestr  ei  ystafell-wely,  a  dywedodd  wrtho  am  gymmeryd 
gofal  o'r  plaut  yn  y  geiriau  hyn : 

'  Rhag  bod  anwyd  ar  fy  mab, 
Yn  rhodd  rhowch  arno  gôb  ei  dad  ; 
Ilhag  bod  anwyd  ar  liw  'r  can, 
Rhoddwch  arni  bais  ei  niham.' 

Ac  yna  ciliodd,  ac  ni  chlywwyd  na  siw  na  miw  byth  yn  ei 
cliylch." 

For  the  sake  of  tliose  readers  of  the  Cymmrodor  wlio  do 

not  happcn  to  know  Welsh,  I  add  a  sumraary  of  it  in  English. 

One  fine  evening  in  tho  nionth  of  Jime  a  brave,  adven- 


192  WELSH   FAIIÍY  TALES. 

turous  youth,  tlie  heir  of  Ystrad,  weiit  to  the  baiiks  of  the 
Gwyrfai,  not  far  from  where  it  leaves  Cwellyn  Lake,  ancl  hid 
himself  in  the  bushes  near  the  spot  where  the  folks  of  the  Eed 
Coats,  or  the  Fairies,  were  woiit  to  dance.  The  moon  shone 
forth  brightly  without  a  cloud  to  intercept  her  light ;  all  was 
quiet  save  that  the  Gwyrfai  gently  murmured  on  its  bed,  and 
it  was  not  long  before  the  young  man  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  the  Fair  Family  dancing  in  full  swing.  As  he  gazed  on 
the  subtle  course  of  the  dance,  his  eyes  rested  on  a  damsel, 
the  most  shapely  and  beautiful  he  had  seen  from  his  boy- 
hood.  Her  agile  movements  and  the  charm  of  her  looks  in- 
flamed  him  with  love  for  her  to  such  a  degree  that  he  felt 
ready  for  any  encounter  in  order  to  secure  lier  to  be  his  own. 
From  his  hiding-place  he  watched  every  move  for  his  oppor- 
tunity ;  at  last,  with  feelings  of  anxiety  and  dread,  he  leaped 
suddenly  into  the  middle  of  the  circle  of  the  Fairies.  There, 
while  their  enjoyment  of  the  dance  was  at  its  height,  he 
seized  her  in  his  arms  and  carried  her  away  to  his  home  at 
Ystrad.  But,  as  she  screamed  for  help  to  free  her  from  the 
grasp  of  him  who  had  fallen  in  love  with  her,  the  dancing 
party  disappeared  like  a  breath  in  July.  He  treated  her 
with  the  utmost  kindness,  and  was  ever  anxious  to  keep  her 
within  his  sight  and  in  his  possession.  By  dint  of  tender- 
ness  he  succeeded  so  far  as  to  get  her  to  consent  to  be  his 
servant  at  Ystrad.  And  such  a  servant  she  turned  out  to  be  ! 
Why,  she  was  wont  to  milk  the  cows  thrice  a  day,  and  to 
have  tlie  usual  quantity  of  milk  each  time,  so  that  the  butter 
was  so  plentiful  that  nobody  thought  of  weighing  it.  As  to 
her  name,  iii  spite  of  all  his  endeavours  to  ascertain  it,  she 
would  never  tell  it  liim.  Accidentally,  how"ever,  one  moonlight 
night,  when  driving  two  of  his  cows  to  the  s})ot  where  they 
should  graze,  he  came  to  the  place  where  the  fairies  were 
wont  to  enjoy  their  games  in  the  light  of  the  moon.  This 
time  also  lie  hid  himself  in  a  thicket,  when  he  overheard 


WEÎ.SII    FAIIIY  TAI.ES.  193 

one  fairy  saying  to  anotlier,  "  Wlien  we  were  Irist  here  our 
sister  Penelope  was  stolen  from  us  by  a  man."  As  soon  as 
he  heard  that,  off  he  went  home,  full  of  joy  because  hc  had 
discoYered  the  name  of  the  maid  that  was  so  dear  to  him. 
She,  on  the  other  hand,  was  greatly  astonished  to  hear  him  call 
her  by  her  own  name.  As  she  was  so  charmingly  pretty,  so 
industrious,  so  skilled  in  every  work,  and  so  attended  by  luck 
in  everything  she  put  her  haud  to,  he  ofîered  to  make  her  his 
M'ife  instead  of  being  his  servant.  At  first  she  would  in  no- 
wise  consent,  but  rather  give  way  to  grief  at  his  having  found 
her  name  out.  However  his  importunity  at  lengtli  brought 
her  to  consent,  but  on  the  condition  that  he  should  not  strike 
her  with  iron ;  if  that  should  happen,  she  would  quit  him 
never  to  come  again.  The  agreeraent  was  made  on  his  side  with 
the  readiness  of  love,  and  after  tliis  they  lived  in  happiness 
and  comfort  together  for  many  years,  and  tliere  were  born  to 
them  a  son  aud  a  daughter,  who  were  the  liandsomest  chil- 
dren  in  the  whole  country.  Owing,  also,  to  the  skill  and 
good  qualities  of  the  woman,  as  a  shrewd  and  virtuous  wife, 
they  became  very  rich — richer,  indeed,  than  anybody  else  in 
the  country  around ;  for,  besides  the  husband's  own  inherit- 
ance  of  Ystrad,  he  held  all  tlie  northern  part  of  Nant  y 
Bettws,  and  all  from  there  to  tlie  top  of  Snowdon,  together 
with  Cwm  Brwynog,  in  the  parish  of  Llanberis.  But  one 
day,  as  bad  luck  would  have  it,  they  went  out  together  to 
catch  a  horse  in  the  field,  and,  as  the  animal  was  somewhat 
wild  and  untamed,  they  had  no  easy  work  before  them.  Tn 
his  rashne.ss  the  man  threw  a  bridle  at  hira  as  he  was 
rushing  past  him,  but,  alas  !  on  whom  should  tlie  bridle  fall 
but  on  the  wife !  JSTo  sooner  had  tliis  liappened  than  she 
disappeared,  and  nothing  raore  was  ever  seen  of  her.  But 
one  cold  night,  when  there  was  a  cliiUing  wind  blowing  from 
the  north,  she  canie  near  the  M'iiidow  of  his  bedroom,  and 
told  hira  in  t1ie.se  words  to  take  care  of  tlie  children : — 


194  WELSII  FATRY  TALES. 

"  Lest  my  son  sliould  find  it  cold, 
Place  on  him  his  father's  coat ; 
Lest  the  fair  one  find  it  cold, 
Place  on  her  my  petticoat." 

Then  slie  withdrew,  and  nothing  more  was  heard  of  her. 

In  reply  to  some  queries  of  mine,  Mr.  0.  Davies  tells 
me  that  Penelope  was  pronounced  in  three  syllables 
Pènelôp — so  he  heard  it  froni  his  grandfather:  he  goes 
on  to  say  that  the  offspring  of  the  Lake  Lady  is 
supposed  to  be  represented  by  a  family  called  Pdlings, 
which  was  once  a  highly  respected  name  in  those  parts, 
and  that  there  was  a  Lady  Bulheley  who  was  of  this 
descent,  not  to  mention  that  several  people  of  a  lower  rank, 
both  in  Anglesey  and  Arvon,  claimed  to  be  of  tlie  same 
origin.  I  am  not  very  clear  as  to  how  the  narae  got  into 
this  tale,  nor  have  I  been  able  to  learn  anything  about  the 
Pellings  ;  but,  as  the  word  appears  to  have  been  regarded  as 
a  corrupt  derivative  from  Penelope,  that  is,  perhaps,  all  the 
connection,  so  that  it  may  be  that  it  has  really  nothing 
whatever  to  do  Avith  the  legend.  This  is  a  point,  however, 
which  the  antiquaries  of  North  "Wales  ought  to  be  able  to 
clear  up  satisfactorily. 

Mr.  0.  Davies^  has  hindly  called  my  attention  to  a  volume 

1  To  meet  the  Editor's  rule  I  have  applied  to  Mr.  Davies  for  a  little  of 
the  history  of  the  legend  in  bis  family ;  he  is  a  native  of  Llanllechid, 
where  he  was  brought  up,  and  writes  to  the  following  effect : — I  am  now 
(June  1881)  over  fifty-two  years  of  age,  and  I  can  assure  you  that  I 
have  heard  the  legend  forty  years  ago.  I  do  not  remember  my  father, 
as  he  died  when  I  was  young,  but  my  grandfather  was  remarkable  for 
his  delight  in  tales  and  legends,  and  it  was  his  favourite  pastime  during 
the  winter  nights,  after  getting  his  short  black  pipe  ready,  to  relate 
stories  about  struggles  with  robbers,  about  bogies,  and  above  all  about 
the  TijliL-ytli  Tcrj ;  for  they  were  his  chief  delight.  He  has  been  dead 
twenty-six  years,  and  he  had  reached  within  a  little  of  eighty  years  of 
age.  His  father  before  him,  who  was  born  about  the  year  1740,  was 
also  famous  for  his  stories,  and  my  grandfathcr  often  mentioned  liim  a-^ 
liis  authority  in  the  course  of  his  narration  of  the  tales.     Ijoth  he  aud 


WELSII    FAIRY   TALES.  19.J 

entitlecl  Obsewations  on  the  Snoiudon  Mountains,  by  Mr.  Wil- 
liani  William.s  of  Llandegai,  published  in  London  in  1802, 
where  this  tale  is  given  somewhat  less  fully  than  by  Mr. 
Davies's  informant.  There  the  author  makes  the  following 
remarks  with  regard  to  it  (pp.  37,  40)  : — "  A  race  of  people 
inhabiting  the  districts  about  the  foot  of  Snowdon,  were  for- 
merly  distiuguished  and  known  by  the  nick-name  of  Pellings, 
which  is  not  yet  extinct.  There  are  several  persons  and 
even  families  who  are  reputed  to  be  descended  from  these 

people These  children  [Penelope's]  and  their  descend- 

ants,  they  say,  were  caUed  Pellings,  a  word  corrupted  from 
their  mother's  name,  Penelope.  The  late  Thomas  Eowlands, 
Esq.,  of  Caerau,  in  Anglesey,  the  father  of  the  late  Lady 
Bulkeley,  was  a  descendant  of  this  lady,  if  it  be  true  that 
the  name  Pellings  came  from  her ;  and  there  are  stiU  living 
several  opulent  and  respectable  people  who  are  known  to 
have  sprung  from  the  Pellings.  The  best  blood  in  my  own 
veins  is  this  fairy's." 

Lastly,  it  wiU  be  noticed  that  this  version  does  not  dis- 
tinctly  suggest  that  the  Lake  Lady  ran  into  the  lake,  that  is 
into  CweUyn,  but  rather  that  slie  disappeared  in  the  same 
way  as  the  dancing  party  by  simply  becoming  invisible  like 
one's  breath  in  July.  The  Fairies  are  caUed  in  Welsh,  Y 
Tyliijyth  Teg,  or  the  Fair  Family ;  but  the  people  of  Arvon 
have  been  so  familiarised  with  the  particular  one  I  have 
termed  the  Lake  Lady,  that,  according  to  one  of  my  inform- 
ants,  they  have  made  the  term  Y  Dylwythes  Dcg  or  even 
Y  Dylwythen  Deg  to  denote  her;  but  it  is  unknown  to  the 
others,  so  that  the  extent  of  its  use  is  stiU  not  very  considerable. 

the  rest  of  the  faniily  used  to  look  at  Corwrion  as  a  sacred  spot.  When 
I  was  a  lad  and  happened  to  be  reluctaut  to  leave  off  playing  at  dusk, 
my  mother  or  grandfathcr  had  only  to  say  that  "the  Pellings  were 
coming",  in  order  to  induce  me  to  come  into  the  house  at  once :  indeed, 
this  announcement  had  the  same  effect  on  persons  of  a  much  riper  age 
than  mine  then  was. 

VOL.    IV.  P 


196  WELSH   FAIRY   TALES. 

This  is,  perliaps,  the  place  to  give  another  tale,  according 
to  which  the  man  goes  to  the  Lake  Maiden's  country  instead 
of  her  settling  with  him  at  his  home.  I  owe  it  to  the  kind- 
ness  of  Mr.  William  Jones  of  Eegent  Place,  LlangoUen,  who 
is  a  native  of  Beddgelert.  He  heard  it  from  an  old  man 
hefore  he  left  Beddgelert,  but  when  he  sent  a  friend  to 
inquire  some  time  afterwards,  he  was  gone  to  his  long  home. 
The  details  of  the  tale  are,  for  that  reason,  imperfect,  Mr. 
Jones  says,  as  the  incidents  have  faded  from  his  memory; 
but  such  as  he  can  still  remember  the  tale,  it  is  here  given 
in  his  own  words  : — 

"  Eyw  noson  lawn  lloer  ac  mi  o  feibion  Llwyn  On  yn 
Nant  y  Bettws  yn  myned  i  garu  i  Glogwyn  y  Gwin,  efe 
a  welodd  y  Tylwyth  yn  ymloddestu  a  dawnsio  ei  hochr  hi  ar 
weirgloddwrth  lan  Llyn  Cawellyn.  Efe  a  nesaodd  tuag  attynt; 
ac  o  dipyu  i  beth  fe'i  llitbiwyd  gan  bereiddra  swynol  eu  canu 
a  hoender  a  bywiogrwyd  eu  chwareu,  nes  myned  o  huno  tu 
fewn  i'r  cylch  ;  ac  yn  fuan  fe  ddaeth  rhyw^  hud  drosto,  fel  y 
collodd  adnabyddiaeth  o  bobman ;  a  chafodd  ei  hun  mew^n 
gwlad  harddaf  a  welodd  erioed,  lle  yr  oedd  paw^b  yn  treulio 
eu  hamser  mewn  afiaeth  a  gorfoledd.     Yr  oedd  wedi  bod  yno 
am  saith  mlynedd,ac  etto  nid  oedd  ddim  ond  megys  breuddwyd 
nos ;  ond  daeth   adgof  ì'w  feddwl  am  ei    neges,  a  hiraeth 
ynddo  am  weled  ei  anwylyd.     Felly  efe  a  ofynodd  ganiatad  i 
ddychwelyd  adref,  yr  hyn  a  roddwyd  ynghyd  a  Uu  o  gym- 
deithion  i'w  arwain  tua'i  wlad ;  ac  yn  ddisymwth  cafodd  ei^ 
hun  fel  yn  deffro  o  freuddwyd  ar  y  ddol,  Ue  gwelodd  y  Tylwyth 
Teg  yn  chwareu.    Trodd  ei  wyneb  tuag  adref ;  ond  wedi  myned 
yno  yr  oedd  poppeth  wedi  newid,  ei  rieni  wedi  meirw,  ei 
frodyr  yn  ffaelu  ei  adnabod,  a'i  gariad  wedi  priodi  un  araU. — 
Ar  ol  y  fath  gyfnewidiadau  efe  a  dorodd  ei  galon,  ac  a  fu  farw 
mewn  Uai  nag  wythnos  ar  ol  ei  ddychweUad." 

"  One  bright  moonUght  night,  as  one  of  the  sous  of  the 
farmer  who  Uved  at  Llwyn  On  in  Nant  y  Bettws  was  goiug 


WELSII   FAIRY  TALES.  197 

to  pay  his  adJresses  to  a  girl  at  Clogwyn  y  Gwin,  he  beheld 
the  Tylwyth  enjoying  theniselves  in  full  swing  on  a  meadow 
close  to  Cwellyn  Lake.  He  approached  them,  and  little  by 
little  he  was  led  on  by  the  enchanting  sweetness  of  their 
mnsic  and  the  liveliiiess  of  their  playing  until  he  had  got 
witliin  their  circle.  Soon  some  kind  of  spell  passed  over 
him,  so  that  he  lost  his  knowledge  of  every  place,  and  foiind 
himself  in  a  country,  the  most  beautiful  he  had  ever  seen, 
where  everybody  spent  his  time  in  mirth  and  rejoicing.  He 
liad  been  there  seven  years,  and  yet  it  seemed  to  him  but  a 
night's  dream ;  but  a  faint  recollection  came  to  his  mind  of 
the  business  on  which  he  had  left  home,  and  he  felt  a  longing 
to  see  his  beloved  one.  So  he  went  and  asked  for  permission 
to  return  home,  which  was  granted  him,  together  with  a 
host  of  attendants  to  lead  him  to  his  country ;  and,  suddenly, 
he  found  himself,  as  if  waking  from  a  dream,  on  the  bank 
where  he  had  seen  the  Fair  Family  amusing  themselves. 
He  turned  towards  home,  but  there  he  found  everything 
changed:  his  pareuts  were  dead,  his  brothers  could  not 
recognise  him,  and  liis  sweetheart  was  married  to  another 
nian.  Tn  consequence  of  such  changes,  he  broke  his  heart, 
and  died  in  less  than  a  week  after  coming  back." 

V.  TiiE  Llanlleciiid  and  Llandegai  Yersions — 

CORWRION  LaKE. 

The  Piev.  0.  Davies  regarded  the  Llanllechid  legend  as  so 
very  like  the  one  he  got  about  Cwellyu  Lake  at  Waeufawr, 
that  he  has  not  written  the  former  out  at  length,  but  merely 
pointed  out  the  foUowing  differences  :  1.  Instead  of  Cwellyn, 
the  lake  in  the  former  is  that  of  Corwrion,  in  the  parish  of 
Llandegai,  near  Bangor.  2.  What  the  Lake  Lady  was  struck 
with  was  not  a  bridle  but  an  iron  fetter :  the  word  used  is 
llyfdhcr,  wliich  probably  mcans  a  fetter  connecting  a  fore- 

i'  2 


198  WELSH    FAIRY    TALES. 

foot  and  a  liind-foot  of  a  horse  together.  In  Arvon,  the  word 
is  applied  also  to  a  cord  tying  the  two  fore-feet  together,  but 
in  Cardiganshire  this  would  be  called  a  hual,  the  other  word, 
there  pronounced  lloiücthir,  being  confined  to  the  long  fetter. 
In  boohs,  the  word  is  written  llywethair,  llefcthair,  llyffethair, 
llyffcthar,  and  it  is  possibly  so  pronounced  in  parts  of  North 
Wales,  though  I  cannot  recall  it.  This  is  an  interesting  word, 
as  it  is  no  other  tban  the  English  term  "  long  fetter",  borrowed 
into  Welsh ;  as  in  fact,  it  was  also  into  Irish  early  enough  to 
call  for  an  article  on  it  in  Cormac's  Irish  Glossary,  where 
langfiter  is  described  as  an  English  word  for  a  fetter  between 
the  fore  and  the  hind-legs.  3.  The  field  in  which  they  were 
trying  to  catch  the  horse  is,  in  the  Llanllechid  version,  speci- 
fied  as  that  called  ]\Iaes  Madog,  at  the  foot  of  the  Llefn.  4. 
When  shC;  after  that,  ran  away,  it  was  headlong  into  the 
lake  of  Corwrion,  calling  after  her  all  her  milch  cows,  which 
followed  her  with  the  ntmost  readiness.  5.  Before  going  on 
to  mention  bits  of  information  I  have  received  from  others 
about  the  LlanUechid  legend,  I  thinh  it  liest  here  to  finish 
with  that  sent  me  by  Mr.  0.  Davies,  whom  I  cannot  too 
cordially  thanh  for  his  readiness  to  answer  my  auestions. 
Aniong  other  things,  he  expresses  himself  to  the  following 
effect : — "  It  is  to  this  day  a  tradition,  and  I  have  heard  it  a 
hnndred  times,  tliat  the  dairy  of  Corwrion  excelled  all  other 
dairies  in  those  parts,  that  the  milh  was  better  and  more 
plentiful,  and  that  the  cheese  and  butter  were  better  there, 
than  in  all  the  country  around,  the  reason  assigned  being 
that  the  cattle  on  the  farm  of  Corwrion  had  mixed  witli  the 
breed  belonging  to  the  Fairy,  who  had  run  away  after  being 
struck  with  the  iron  fetter.  lIowever  that  may  be,  I  remem- 
ber  perfectly  well  tlie  high  terms  of  praise  in  which  the  cows 
üf  Corwrion  used  to  be  spohen  of  as  being  remarkable  for 
their  milk  and  the  profit  they  yielded ;  and,  when  I  was  a 
bov,  I  used  to  liear  people  talk  of  Tarin  Penwyn  Corwrion  or 


■\VELSH   FAITÍY   TALES.  199 

'  tlie  white-lieaded  h\ú\  of  Corwrion',  as  derived  írom  the  breed 
of  cattle  whicli  had  formed  the  Fairy  Maiden's  dowry." 

jMy  next  informant  is  Mr.  Hugh  Derfel  Hughes,^  of  Pen- 
dinas,  Llandegai,  who  has  been  kind  enough  to  give  me  the 
Ycrsion,  of  which  I  here  give  the  substance  in  English,  pre- 
mising  that  Mr.  Hughes  says  that  he  has  lived  about  thirty- 
four  years  within  a  mile  of  the  pool  and  farmhouse  called 
Corwrion,  and  that  he  has  refreshed  his  memory  of  the  legend 
by  f[uestioning  separately  no  less  than  three  old  people,  who 
had  been  bred  and  born  at  or  near  that  spot.  He  is  a  native 
of  ]\lerioneth,  but  has  lived  at  Llandegai  for  the  last  thirty- 
seven  years,  his  age  now  being  sixty-six  : — 

"  In  old  times,  when  the  fairies  showed  themselves  much 
oftener  to  men  than  they  do  now,  they  made  their  home  in 
the  bottomless  pool  of  Corwrion,  in  Upper  Arllechwedd,  in 
that  wild  portion  of  Gwynedd  called  Arvon.  On  fine 
mornings  in  the  month  of  June  these  diminutive  and  nimble 
folk  niight  be  seen  in  a  regular  line  vigorously  engaged  in 
mowing  hay,  with  their  cattle  in  herds  busily  grazing  in  the 

1  Mr.  Hughes  is  a  local  antiquary  of  great  industry  and  zeal.  In  the 
year  1866  he  published  a  book  on  the  antiquities  of  the  district,  uuder 
the  title  of  Ilynajìacthau  Lhnidef/ai  a  Lìanllechid ;  but  it  is  out  of  print, 
and  I  have  ueycr  scen  a  copy.  I  may  add  that  at  present  he  is  engaged 
on  a  key  to  a  larger  \vork,  which  he  has  speut  some  ten  yeare  in  com- 
piHng,  on  Welsh  names,  under  the  title  of  Casgliad  o  Enwau  Cymreig, 
which  is  to  be  published  as  soou  as  the  Welsh  pubUc  has  given  the  author 
sufhcient  encouragemant  to  undcrtake  the  expense  of  printing.  I  haye 
not  seen  the  manuscript,  but,  according  to  what  the  autlior  tells  me,  it 
■would  be  of  great  value  and  interest  to  the  Welsh  reading  public, 
Mr.  Ilughes  has  supplied  me  with  such  a  quantity  of  notes  relative  to 
Corwriou  and  the  neighbourhood,  that  I  can  only  publish  extracts  from 
them,  remarking  as  to  the  lcgend,  that  he,  bcing  a  Christian,  does  not  wish 
to  be  supposed,  as  he  kin(lly  hints,  to  harboiu-  any  liking  for  such  vani- 
ties,  and  1  most  wiUingly  bear  hiiu  testimony  that  it  is  only  the  belief 
that  possibly  I  may  be  able  to  draw  some  edification  from  it,  that  he 
has  written  to  me  so  fully  about  it.  I  caiuiot  adequately  express  my 
obligations  to  him  for  the  diäinterested  manner  in  which  he  has  given  me 
his  help. 


200  WELSH   FAIKY   TALES. 

fìelds  near  Corwrion.  This  was  a  siglit  wliich  often  met 
the  eyes  of  the  people  on  the  sides  of  the  hills  aronnd,  even 
on  Sundays ;  but  when  they  hurried  down  to  them  they 
found  the  fields  empty,  with  the  sham  workmen  and  their  cows 
gone,  all  gone.  At  other  times  they  raight  be  heard  hamm.er- 
ing  away  like  miners^  shovelling  rubbish  aside,  or  emptying 
their  carts  of  stones.  At  times  they  took  to  singing  all  the 
night  long,  greatly  to  the  delight  of  the  people  about,  who 
dearly  loved  to  liear  them  ;  and,  besides  singing  so  charm- 
inglyj  they  sometimes  formed  into  companies  for  dancing, 
and  their  movements  were  marvellously  graceful  and  attrac- 
tive.  But  it  was  not  safe  to  go  too  near  the  lake  late  at 
night,  for  once  a  brave  girl,  who  was  tronbled  with  tooth- 
ache,  got  up  at  midnight  and  went  to  the  brink  of  the  water 
in  search  of  the  root  of  a  plant  that  grows  there  fuU  of  the 
power  to  kill  all  pain  in  the  teeth.  But,  as  she  was  plucking 
up  a  bit  of  it,  there  burst  on  her  ear^  from  the  depths  of  the 
lake,  such  a  shriek  as  drove  her  back  into  the  house,  breath- 
less  with  fear  and  trembling ;  but  whether  this  was  not  the 
doing  of  a  stray  fairy^  who  had  been  frightened  out  of  her 
wits  at  being  suddenly  overtaken  by  a  damsel  in  her  night- 
dress,  or  the  ordinary  fairy  way  of  curing  the  toothache, 
tradition  does  not  tell.  For  sometimes,  at  any  rate,  the 
fairies  busied  themselves  in  doing  good  to  the  men  and 
women  who  were  tlieir  neighbours,  as  when  t]iev  tried  to 
teach  theni  to  keep  all  promises  and  covenants  to  whicli  they  ^ 
pledged  themselves.  A  certain  man  and  his  wife,  to  w'hom 
they  wished  to  teach  this  good  habit  have  never  been  forgotten. 
The  husband  had  been  behaving  as  he  ought,  until  one  day, 
as  lie  held  the  plough,  with  the  wife  guiding  his  team,  he 
brolce  his  covenant  towards  her  by  treating  her  harshly  and 
imhindly.  No  sooner  had  he  done  so,  than  he  was  suatclied 
through  the  air  and  plunged  in  the  lake.  When  the  wife 
"\\ent  to  the  brink  of  the  water  to  ask  for  him  back,  thc 


WELSH   FAIRY  TALES.  201 

reply  she  had  ^vas,  that  he  was  there,  and  that  there  he 
shouUl  be. 

"  The  fairies  when  engaged  in  daucing  allowed  theniselves 
to  be  gazed  at,  a  sight  which  was  wont  greatly  to  attract  the 
youug  men  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  once  on  a  time  the  son 
and  heir  of  the  owner  of  Corwrion  fell  deeply  in  love  with 
one  of  the  graceful  maideus  who  danced  in  the  fairy  ring, 
for  she  was  wondrously  beautiful  and  pretty  beyond  compare. 
His  passion  for  her  ere  long  resulted  in  courtship,  and  soon 
in  their  being  married,  which  took  place  on  the  distinct 
understanding,  that  fìrstly  the  husband  was  not  to  know  her 
name,  though  he  might  give  her  any  name  he  chose;  and, 
secondly,  that  he  might  now  and  then  beat  her  witli  a  rod,  if 
she  chanced  to  misbehave  towards  him ;  but  he  was  not  to 
strike  her  with  iron  on  pain  of  her  leaving  him  at  once. 
This  covenant  was  kept  for  some  years,  so  that  they  lived 
happily  together  and  had  four  childreu,  of  whom  the  two 
youngest  were  a  boy  and  a  girl.  But  one  day  as  they  went 
to  one  of  the  fields  of  Bryn  Twrw  in  the  direction  of  Penardd 
Gron,  to  catch  a  pony,  the  fairy  wife  being  so  mucli  nimbler 
than  her  husband,  ran  before  him  and  had  her  hand  in  the 
pony's  mane  in  no  time.  She  called  out  to  her  husband  to 
throw  her  a  halter,  but  instead  of  that  he  threw  towards  her 
a  bridle  with  an  iron  bit,  which,  as  bad  luck  would  have  it, 
struck  her.  The  wife  at  once  flew  through  thc  air,  aud 
plunged  headlong  into  Corwrion  Lake.  The  husband  re- 
turned  sighing  and  weeping  towards  Bryn  Twrw  (Noise  Hill), 
and  when  he  liad  reached  it,  the  twrw  (noise)  there  was  greater 
than  had  ever  been  heard  before,  namely  that  of  weeping 
after  "  Belene" ;  and  it  was  then,  after  he  had  struck  her 
with  iron,  that  he  first  learnt  what  his  wife's  name  was, 
Belene  never  came  back  to  her  husband,  but  the  feelinrrs  of 
a  mother  once  brought  her  to  the  window  of  liis  bedroom, 
where  she  gave  him  the  following  order : — 


202  WELSH   FAIRY   TALES. 

"  Os  bydd  anwyd  ar  fy  mab, 
Rho'wch  am  dano  gob  ei  dad  ; 
Os  anwydog  a  fydd  can,i 
Rho'wch  am  dani  bais  ei  mara." 

"  If  my  son  should  feel  it  cold, 
Let  him  wear  his  father's  coat ; 
If  the  fair  one  feel  the  cold, 
Let  her  wear  my  petticoat." 

"  As  years  and  years  rolled  on  a  grandson  of  Belene's  fell 
in  love  witli  a  beautiful  damsel  wlio  lived  at  a  neiglibouring 
farm-house  called  Tai  Teulwriaid,  and  against  the  will  of  his 
father  aud  mother  they  married,  but  tliey  had  nothing  to  stock 
their  land  with.  So  one  morning  what  was  their  astonish- 
ment,  when  they  got  up,  to  see  grazing  quietly  in  the  field  six 
black  cows  and  a  white-headed  bull,  which  had  come  up  out 
of  the  lake  as  stock  for  them  from  old  grannie  Belene  ?  They 
served  them  well  with  milk  and  butter  for  many  a  long  year, 
but  on  the  day  the  last  of  the  family  died,  the  six  black 
cows  and  the  Avhite-headed  bull  disappeared  into  the  lake, 
never  more  to  be  seen." 

j\Tr.  Hughes  refers  to  no  less  than  three  other  versions, 
as  follows.  (1)  According  to  one  account,  the  husband  was 
ploughing,  with  the  wife  leading  the  team,  Avhen  he  acci- 
dentally  came  across  her  and  the  accident  with  the  iron 
happened.  The  wife  then  tìew  away  like  a  wood  hen  {iar 
(jucd)  into  the  lahe.  (2)  Another  says  tliat  it  was  in  a  stable 
they  were  trying  to  bridle  one  of  the  horses  when  the  mis-  , 
fortune  took  place  through  inadvertence.  (3)  A  third  speci- 
fies  the  field  in  front  of  the  house  at  Corwrion  as  the  place 
where  the  final  accident  took  place,  when  they  were  busied 
with  the  cows  and  horses. 

To  these  I  would  add  the  foUowiug  traditious,  which  Mr. 
Hughes  further  gives.     Sometimes  the  inhabitants,  who  seem 

1  For  can  they  now  usually  put  Ann^  and  Mr.  Hughes  remembers  hear- 
ing  it  so  many  ycars  ago. 


"WELSII    FAIUY   TALES.  203 

to  liave  been  on  tlie  wliole  on  good  terms  with  tlie  fairies, 
used  to  warm  water  ancl  leave  it  in  a  vessel  on  tlie  liearth 
over  night  for  the  fairies  to  wash  their  children  with  it.  This 
they  considered  sncli  a  kindness  that  they  always  left  behind 
them  on  the  hearth  a  handful  of  their  money.  Some  pieces 
are  said  to  liave  been  sometimes  found  in  tlie  fields  near 
Corwrion,  and  that  they  consisted  of  coins  which  were  smaller 
tlian  our  halfpenuies,  but  bigger  than  farthings,  and  had  a  harp 
on  one  side.  But  the  tradition  is  not  very  definite  ou  these 
points.  Here  also  1  may  as  well  refer  to  a  similar  tale  which 
I  got  last  year  at  Llanberis  from  a  man  who  is  a  native  of 
the  Llanllechid  side  of  the  mountain,  though  he  now  lives  at 
Llanberis.  He  is  about  fifty-five  years  of  age,  and  remem- 
bers  hearing  in  his  youth  a  tale  connected  with  a  house  called 
Hafoty'r  Famaeth,  in  a  very  lonely  situation  on  Llanllechid 
IMountain,  and  now  represented  by  some  old  ruined  walls 
only ;  it  was  to  the  effect  that  one  night  when  the  man 
who  lived  there  was  away  from  home,  liis  wife,  who  had  a 
youngish  baby,  washed  him  on  the  hearth,  left  the  water 
there,  and  went  to  bed  with  her  little  one ;  she  woke  up  in  the 
night  to  find  that  the  Tylwyth  Teg  were  in  possession  of  the 
hearth,  and  busily  engaged  in  washing  their  children.  Tliat 
is  all  I  got  of  this  tale  of  a  well-known  type, 

To  return  to  j\Tr.  Hughes'  communications,  I  would  select 
from  them  some  remarks  on  the  topography  of  the  teeming 
home  of  the  Fairies.  He  estimates  the  lake  or  pool  of  Corwrion 
to  be  about  120  yards  long,  and  adds  that  it  is  nearly  round; 
but  he  thinks  it  was  formerly  considerably  larger,  as  a  cutting 
was  made  some  eighty  or  a  hundred  years  ago  to  lead  water 
from  it  to  Penrhyn  Castle ;  but  even  then  its  size  would  not 
approach  that  ascribed  to  it  by  popular  belief,  according  to 
which  it  was  no  less  than  three  miles  loníT.  Tn  fact  there 
was  once  a  town  of  Corwrion  which  was  swallowed  up  by 
the  lake,  a  sort  of  idea  which  one  meets  with  in  many  parts 


204  WELSH   FAIRY   TALES. 

of  Wales,  and  some  of  tlie  natiyes  are  said  to  be  able  to  dis- 
cern  the  houses  under  the  water.  This  must  have  been  near 
the  end  which  is  not  bottomless,  the  latter  being  indicated  by 
a  spot  which  is  said  never  to  freeze  even  in  hard  winters. 
Old  men  remember  it  the  resort  of  herons,  cormorants,  and 
the  water-hen  (liohi  wcii)\  near  the  banks  there  grew,  besides 
the  water  lily,  various  kinds  of  rushes  and  sedges,  which  were 
formerly  much  used  for  making  mats  and  other  useful  articles. 
It  was  also  once  famous  for  eels  of  a  large  size,  but  it  is  not 
supposed  to  have  contained  fish  until  Lord  Penrhyn  placed 
some  there  in  recent  years ;  it  teemed,  however,  with  leeches 
of  three  difíerent  kinds  so  recently  that  an  old  man  still 
living  describes  to  Mr.  Hughes  his  simple  way  of  catching 
them  when  he  was  a  boy,  namely,  by  walking  bare-legged  in 
the  water ;  in  a  few  minutes  he  landed  with  nine  or  ten 
leeches  sticking  to  his  legs,  some  of  which  fetched  a  shilling 
each  from  the  medical  men  of  those  days.  Corwrion  is  now 
a  farm-house  occupied  by  Mr.  William  Grif&ths,  a  grandson 
of  the  late  bard  Gutyn  Peris.  When  Mr.  Hughes  called  to 
make  enquiries  about  the  legend,  he  found  there  the  founda- 
tions  of  several  old  buildings,  and  several  piecesof  old  querns 
about  the  place.  He  thinks  that  there  belonged  to  Corwrion 
in  former  times,  a  mill  and  a  fuller's  house,  which  he  seems 
to  infer  from  the  names  of  two  neighbouring  houses  called 
'Y  Felin  Hen'  and  'Pandy  Tregarth'  respectively ;  and  he 
mentions  a  gcfail  or  smithy  there,  in  which  one  Ehys  ap  Eobert  , 
used  to  work,  not  to  mention  that  a  great  quantity  of  ashes, 
such  as  come  from  a  smithy,  are  found  at  the  end  of  the  lake 
furthest  from  the  house  of  Corwrion.  The  opot,  on  which 
Corwrion  stands,  is  part  of  the  ground  between  the  Ogwen 
and  another  stream  which  bears  the  name  of  '  Afon  Cegiu 
Arthur'  or  tlie  river  of  Artliur's  kitchen,  and  most  of  the 
houses  and  fields  about  have  names  whicli  have  sugges.ted 
yarious  things  to  the  people  there :  such  are  the  farms  called 


WELSII   FAIIÍY  TALES.  205 

'  Coecl  Howel',  wliciice  tlie  belief  in  tlie  neighbourliood  that 
Howel  tlie  Good,  King  of  Wales,  lived  here.  About  liiui 
Mr.  Hughes  has  a  great  deal  to  say ;  among  other  things, 
that  he  had  boats  on  Corwrion  Lake,  and  that  he  was  wont  to 
present  the  citizens  of  Bangor  yearly  with  300  fat  geese 
reared  on  the  waters  of  the  same.  I  am  referred  by  another 
gentlenian  to  a  lecture  delivered  in  the  neighbourhood  on 
these  and  similar  things  by  the  late  bard  and  antiquary  the 
Itev.  Eobert  Ellis,  Cynddelw,  but  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to 
íînd  it  in  print.  A  fìeld  near  Corwrion  is  called  '  Cae  Stabl',  or 
the  Field  of  the  Stable,  which  contains  the  remains  of  a  row  of 
stables,  as  it  is  supposed,  and  of  a  number  of  mangers  where 
Howel's  horses  once  were  fed.  In  a  neighbouring  wood, 
called  '  Parc  y  Gelli'  or '  Hopiar  y  Gelli',  my  iuformant  goes  on 
to  say,  there  are  to  be  seen  the  foundations  of  seventeen  or 
eighteen  old  hut-circles,  and  near  them  some  think  they  see 
the  site  of  an  old  church.  About  a  mile  to  the  south-east  of 
Corwrion  is  Pendinas,  which  he  describes  as  an  old  triangular 
Welsh  fortress  ou  the  bank  of  the  Ogwen;  and  within  tw^o 
stone's-throws  or  so  of  Corwrion  on  the  south  side  of  it,  and  a 
little  to  the  west  of  Brvn  Twrw  mentioned  in  the  lecrend,  is 
situated  Penardd  Gron,  a  caer  or  fort,  wliicli  he  describes  as 
being,  before  it  was  erased  in  his  time,  .42  yards  long  by  32 
wide,  and  defended  by  a  sort  of  rampart  of  earth  and  stoue 
several  yards  wide  at  the  base.  It  used  to  be  the  resort  of  the 
country  people  for  dancing,  cock-figliting,  and  other  amuse- 
ments  on  Sundays.  Near  it  was  a  cairn,  which,  when  it  was 
dug  into,  was  found  to  cover  a  kistvaen,  a  pot,  and  a  C[uern : 
a  variety  of  tales  attach  to  this  caer  about  ghosts,  caves,  and 
hidden  treasures  of  money.  Altogether  Mr.  Hughes  is  strongly 
of  opinion  tliat  Corwriou  and  its  immediate  surroundings 
represent  a  spot  M'hich  liad  great  importance  at  one  time; 
and  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  the  correctness  of  that  conclu- 
sion,  l)ut  it  would  bc  interesting  to  know  whether  Penrhyu 


206  WELSH   FAIRY   TALES. 

iised,  as  Mr.  Hnglies  siiggests,  to  be  called  Penrliyn  Corwrion; 
there  ought,  perhaps,  to  be  no  great  dif&culty  in  ascertaining 
this,  as  a  good  deal  of  the  estate  appears  to  have  heen  the 
suhject  of  sharp  litigation  in  times  gone  by. 

Possibly,  the  so-called  Cyfraith  Coriorion  may  turn  out  to 
have  some  bearing  on  the  question  of  the  importance  of 
Corwrion  in  ohl  times.  Under  this  heading  Mr.  Hughes 
writes  to  the  foUowing  effect : — "  There  was  formerly  a  law 
called  Cyfraith  Corwrion,  together  with  lawyers  called 
Cyfreitluüyr  Corwrion,  and  the  old  people  sometimes  chose 
to  settle  their  quarrels  according  to  Cyfraith  Corwrion. 
Here  is  an  instance  of  it.  About  150  years  ago  there  was 
such  a  flood  in  the  Ogwen,  that  it  carried  away  a  valuable 
tree  from  the  land  of  Grâs  ych  Huw  of  Cilgeraint,  and  left 
it  on  the  land  of  Madam  Puw  of  Coetmor.  The  servants  of 
tlie  latter  were  eager  to  take  possession  of  it,  but  Madam 
Puw  would  have  nothing  to  do  witli  it  until  Grâs  had  been 
sent  for  from  Cilgeraint  to  see  it.  Down  came  Grâs  on  her 
horse,  and  rather  than  go  to  law  aboiit  the  tree,  they  agreed 
that  Grâs  was  to  have  the  trunk  and  Madam  Puw  the  branches. 
So  they  parted  in  peace,  when  Grâs  went  home,  and  died  not 
long  afterwards,  in  the  process  of  making  oatmeal  cakes,  at 
the  age  of  103,  as  testified  by  an  inscription  to  be  seen  in 
Llandegai  Church  until  it  was  restored."  I  am  by  no  means 
clear  as  to  why  the  above  is  called  Cyfraith  Corwrion,  and 
whether  the  term  may  not  have  some  other  significatiou.  The 
word  cyfraith  may  mean  either  a  law  or  a  lawsuit,  aud  I  learn 
from  my  informant  that  the  latter  is  the  one  attributed  to  it 
in  this  instance  by  the  old  people  about  him.  I  have  re- 
corded  it  simply  in  hopes  that  if  the  term  has  any  historical 
significance,  light  may  be  thrown  on  it  by  somebody  more 
shilled  in  Welsh  law  than  I  am. 

Before  leaving  Mr.  Hughes's  notes,  I  must  here  give  liis 
too  brief  account  of  another  thing  connected  with  Corwrion, 


WELSII    FAIUY   TALES.  207 

tliniioli,  perhaps,  iiôt  with  the  legends  here  in  question.     I 

allude  to  what  he  calls  the  Lantern  Ghost  {Yshryd  y  Lantar). 

"  There  used  to  be  fornierly,"  he  says,  "  and  there  is  still  at 

Corwrion,  a  good   sized,  sour  apple-tree,  wliich  during  the 

winter  half  of  the  year  used  to  be  lit  up  by  fire.     It  began 

slowly  and  grew  greater  and  greater  until  the  whole  seemed 

to  be  in  a  blaze.     He  was  told  by  an  old  woman  that  she 

formerly  knew  old  people  who  declared  they  had  seen  it. 

In  the  same  Avay  the  trees  in  Hopiar  y  Gelli  appeared,  ac- 

cording  to  them,  to  be  also  lit  up  with  fire.^'      This  reminds 

me  of  Mr.  Fitzíîerald's  account  of  the  Irisli  Bile-Tineadh  in 

the  Revue  Celtique  (vol.  iv,  p.  193). 

After  communicatinfî  to  me  the  notes  of  which  thc  fore- 

going  are  abstracts,  Mr.  Hughes  kindly  got  me  a  version  of 

the  legend  from  Mr.  David  Thomas  of  Pontywern,  in  the 

same  neighbourhood,  but  as  it  contains  nothing  which  I  have 

not  already  given  from  Mr.  Hughes's  own,  I  pass  it  by.     Mr. 

Thomas,  however,  has  heard  that  tlie  number  of  the  houses 

malcing  up  the  town  of  Corwrion  some  six  or  seven  centuries 

ago  was  about  seventy-five ;  but  they  were  exactly  seventy- 

three   according   to  my  next   informant,  Mr.  David   Evan 

Davies  of  Treflvs,  Bethesda.     Both  these  o;entlemen  have 

also  heard  the  tradition  that  there  was  a  church  at  Corwrion, 

where  there  used  to  be  every  Sunday  a  single  service,  after 

which  the  people  went  to  a  spot  not  far  off  to  amuse  them- 

selves,  and  at  niglit  to  watch  the  Fairies  dancing,  or  to  mix 

with  them  \vhile  they  danced  in  a  ring  around  a  glow-worm. 

According  tu  Mr.  D.  E.  Davies,  the  spot  was  called  '  Pen  y 

Bongc',  which  means  that  they  cliose  the  top  of  a  rising 

ground.     Tliis  is  referred  to  in  a  modorn  rhyme,  wliich  runs 

tlius — 

"  A'r  Tylwyth  Teg  yn  dawnsio  'n  siongc 
O  gylch  niagíen  Peu  y  Bongc." 

'•  With  nimble  Fairies  dancing  round 
The  glow-worm  on  the  rising  ground." 


208  WELSH   FAIRY   TALES. 

Mr.  D.  E.  Davies  lias  kinclly  gone  to  tlie  trouble  of  giving 
me  a  brief,  bnt  complete,  version  of  the  legend  as  he  has 
heard  it.  This  is  the  snbstance  of  it  in  Engiish  : — "  At  one 
of  the  dances  at  Pen  y  Bongc,  the  heir  of  Corwrion's  eyes 
fell  on  one  of  the  damsels  of  the  Fair  Eamily,  and  he  was 
fiUed  with  love  for  lier.  Courtship  and  marriage  in  due  time 
ensued,  but  he  had  to  agree  to  two  conditions,  namely,  that 
lie  was  neither  to  know  her  name  nor  to  strilce  her  with 
iron.  By  and  by  they  had  children,  and  when  the  husband 
happened  to  go,  during  his  wife's  confinement,  to  a  merry- 
making  at  Pen  y  Bongc,  the  Fairies  talked  together  of  his 
wife,  and  in  expressing  their  feelings  of  sympathy  for  her, 
they  inadvertently  betrayed  the  mystery  of  her  name  by 
mentioning  it  wdthin  liis  hearingi  Years  went  by,  when 
they  one  day  went  out  together  to  catch  a  colt  of  theirs  that 
liad  not  been  broken  in,  with  the  view  of  going  to  Conwy 
Fair.  Now,  as  she  was  swifter  of  foot  tlian  her  husband, 
she  got  hold  of  the  colt  by  the  mane,  and  called  out  to  him 
to  throw  her  a  halter,  but  instead  of  throwing  her  the  one 
she  asked  for,  he  threw  another  with  iron  in  it,  wdiich  struck 
her.  Off  she  went  into  the  lake.  A  grandson  of  this  fairy 
many  years  afterwards  married  one  of  the  girls  of  Corwrion. 
They  had  a  large  jDÌece  of  land,  but  no  means  of  stoclàng  it, 
so  that  they  felt  ratlier  distressed  in  their  minds.  But  lo 
and  beliold  !  one  day  a  white-headed  buU  came  out  of  the 
lake,  bringing  with  him  six  black  cows  to  their  land.  There 
never  were  the  like  of  those  cows  for  milk,  and  great  was 
the  prosperity  of  their  owners,  as  well  as  the  envy  it  kin- 
dled  in  their  neighbours'  breasts.  But  when  they  both  grew 
old  and  died,  the  bull  and  the  cows  went  back  into  the  lake." 

Now  I  add  the  other  sayings  about  the  Tylwytli  Teg,  which 
Mr.  D.  E.  Davies  has  kindly  coUected  for  me,  beginning  with 
a  common  story  about  changelings  : — 

"  Once  on  a  time,  in  tlie  fourteenth  ceutury,  the  wife  of  a 


WELSII    FAIRY   TALES.  209 

man  at  Corwrion  liad  twins,  and  she  complained  one  day  to 
the  witch,  wlio  lived  close  by,  at  Tyddyn  y  Barcut,  that  the 
chihh'cn  were  not  getting  on,  hut  that  they  were  always  cry- 
ing  day  and  night.     '  Aro  you  sure  that  they  are  your  chil- 
dren  ?'  asked  the  witch,  adding  that  it  did  not  seem  to  her 
that  tliey  were  like  hers.     '  I  have  niy  doubts  also,'  said  the 
mother.     '  I  wonder  if  somebody  has  changed  children  with 
you,'  said  the  witch.    '  I  do  not  know,'  said  the  mother.    '  But 
why  do  you  not  seek  to  know  V  asked  the  otlier.    '  But  how  am 
I  to  go  about  it?'  said  the  mother.     The  witch  replied,  'Go 
and  do  something  rather  strange  before  their  eyes  and  watch 
what  they  will  say  to  one  another.'     '  Well,  I  do  not  know 
what  I  should  do,'  said  tlie  mother.    '  Oh/  said  the  other, '  take 
an  egg-shell,  and  proceed  to  brew  beer  in  it  in  a  chamber  aside, 
and  come  here  to  tell  nie  what  the  children  wiU  say  about  it.' 
She  went  home  and  did  as  the  witch  had  directed  her,  wlien 
the  two  children  lifted  their  heads  out  of  the  cradle  to  see  what 
slie  was  doing,  to  watch,  and  to  listen.     Then  one  observed 
to  the  other,  'I  remember  seeing  an  oak  having  an  acorn,' 
to  which  the  other  replied,  '  And  I  remember  seeing  a  lien 
having  an  egg ;'  and  one  of  the  two  added,  '  But  I  do  not  re- 
member  before  seeing  anybody  brew  beer  into  the  shell  of  a 
hen's  ecT'î.'     The  mother  then  went  to  the  witch  and  told  her 
what  the  twins  had  said  one  to  the  other ;  and  she  directed 
her  to  go  to  a  small  wooden  bridge,  not  far  oíf,  with  one  of 
the  strange  children  under  each  arm,  and  tliere  to  drop  them 
frora  the  bridge  into  the  river  beneath.     The  mother  went 
back  home  again  and  did  as  she  had  been  directed.     AVhen 
she  reached  home  this  time,  to  her  astonishment  she  found 
that  her  own  children  had  been  brought  back." 

Next  comes  a  story  about  a  midwife  who  lived  at  Cor- 
wrion.  "  One  of  the  fairies  came  to  ask  her  to  come  and 
attend  on  his  wife.  Oíf  she  went  with  him,  and  she  was  as- 
tonished  to  be  taken  into  a  splendid  palace.     Tliere  she  con- 


210  WELSH   FAIEY   TALES. 

tinued  to  go  niglit  and  morning  to  dress  the  baby  for  some 
time,  until  one  day  ihe  husband  asked  her  to  rub  her  eyes 
with  a  certain  ointment  he  offered  her.  She  did  so,  and 
found  herself  sitting  on  a  tuft  of  rushes,  and  not  iu  a  palace. 
There  was  no  baby  and  all  had  disappeared.  Some  time 
afterwards  she  happened  to  go  to  the  town,  and  whom  should 
she  there  see  busily  buying  various  wares,  but  the  fairy  on 
whose  wife  she  had  been  attending.  She  addressed  him  with 
the  question,  '  How  are  you,  to-day  X  Instead  of  answering 
her,  he  asked,  '  How  do  you  see  me  ?'  '  With  my  eyes,'  was 
the  prompt  reply.  '  Which  eye  ?'  he  asked.  '  This  one/  said 
the  woman,  pointing  to  it ;  aud  instantly  he  disappeared, 
never  more  to  be  seen  by  her."  This  tale  is  incomplete,  but 
it  can  be  made  up  from  another  version  I  have  seen  in  print 
somewhere,  though  I  cannot  now  lay  my  hand  on  it.  It  was 
possibly  in  Mr.  Sihes'  book. 

"  One  day  Guto,  the  farmer  of  Corwrion,  complained  to 
his  wife  that  he  was  in  need  of  men  to  mow  his  hay,  and 
she  answered,  '  Why  fret  about  it  ?  look  yonder  !  There  you 
have  a  field  full  of  them  at  it,  and  stripped  to  their  shirt 
sleeves  {yn  lleioys  eu  crysau).  When  he  went  to  the  spot  the 
sham  worhmen  of  the  Fairy  Family  had  disappeared.  This 
same  Guto,  or  somebody  else,  happened,  another  time,  to  be 
ploughing,  when  he  heard  some  person  lie  could  not  see  call- 
ing  out  to  him,  '  I  have  got  the  Mns  (that  is  the  vice)  of  my 
plough  broken.'  '  Bring  it  to  me,'  said  the  driver  of  Guto's 
team,  '  that  I  may  mend  it.'  When  they  brought  the  furrow 
to  its  end,  there  they  found  the  broken  vice,  witli  a  barrel  of 
beer  placed  near  it.  One  of  the  men  sat  down  and  mended  it. 
Then  they  made  another  furrow,  and  when  they  returned  to 
the  spot  they  found  there  a  two-eared  dish,  fiUed  to  the  brim 
w4th  harct  a  chwrw,  or  bread  and  beer."  The  vice,  I  may  ob- 
serve,  is  an  Engiish  term,  which  is  applied  in  Carnarvonshire 
to  a  certain  part  of  the  plougli ;  it  is  otherwise  called  hins, 


WELSII    FAIHY    TALF.S.  211 

but  neitlier  does  that  seem  to  be  a  Welsli  wordj  uor  liave  I 
heard  either  used  iu  South  Wales. 

At  times  the  wif'e  of  one  of  the  Fairies  was  in  the  habit  of 
cominj];  out  of  the  hxke  of  Corwrion  with  her  spinning-wlieel 
(tì'ocll  hnch)  on  fine  summer  days,  and  betaking  herself  to  spin- 
ning.  While  at  that  work  she  miglit  be  heard  constantly  sing- 
ing  or  humming,  in  a  sort  of  round  tune,  the  words  s\li  ffrit. 
So  that  "  Sili  ífrit  Leisa  Bèla"  may  now  be  heard  from  the 
mouths  of  the  children  in  that  neighbourhood.  But  I  have 
not  been  successfid  in  finding  out  what  Liza  BeUa's  "  silly 
frit"  exactly  means,  thougli  I  am,  on  the  whole,  inclined  to 
think  the  words  are  other  than  of  Welsh  origin  :  tlie  last  of 
them,  ffrit,  is  usually  applied  in  Cardiganshire  to  anything 
worthless  or  insignificant,  and  the  derivative,  ffrityn,  means 
one  who  has  no  go  or  perseverance  in  hini ;  the  feminine  is 
ffritcn.  In  Carnarvonshire  my  wife  has  heard  ffrityn  and 
ffritan  applied  to  a  small  man  and  a  sniall  woman  respectively, 
Mr.  Ilughes  says  that  in  Merioneth  and  parts  of  Powys  sìli 
ffrit  is  a  term  applied  to  a  small  woman  or  a  female  dwarf 
who  happens  to  be  proud,  vain,  and  fond  of  the  attentions  of 
the  other  sex  (bcnyio  fctch,  ncu  goraches  falch  a  hunanol  a 
fycldai  hoff  o  garu) ;  but  he  thinlis  he  has  heard  it  made  use 
of  with  regard  to  the  Gipsies,  and  possibly  also  to  the  Tylwyth 
Teg.  The  Piev.  0.  Davies  thinks  the  words  "  sìli  ííiit  Leisa 
Bèla"  to  be  very  modern,  and  that  they  refer  to  a  young 
woman  who  lived  at  a  place  in  the  neighbourhood,  called 
Bryn  Bòla,  or  Brymbèla,  BeUa's  Hill,  who  was  ahead,  in  her 
time,  of  all  tlie  girls  in  those  parts  in  matters  of  taste  and 
fashion.  This  however  does  not  seem  to  go  far  enough  back, 
and  it  is  possible  still,  that  in  Bèla  (that  is,  in  English  spelling, 
BeUa)  we  have  merely  a  shortening  of  some  such  a  name  as 
Isabella  or  ArabeUa,  which  were  once  much  more  popular  in 
the  Principality  than  they  are  now;  in  fact,  I  do  not  feel  sure 
tliat  Lcisa  Bèla  is  not  bodily  a  corruption  of  Isabella.     As  U) 

YOL.    IV.  Q 


212  WELSH   FAIRY   TALES. 

s\li  ffrit,  one  miglit  at  first  have  been  inclined  to  render  it  by 
small  fry,  especially  in  the  sense  of  tbe  French  "  de  la  friture" 
as  applied  to  young  men  and  boys,  and  to  connect  it  with  the 
Welsh  sîl  and  nlod,  which  mean  small  fish;  but  the  pro- 
nunciation  of  slli  being  that  of  the  English  word  siUy,  it 
appears,  on  the  whole,  to  belong  to  the  host  of  English  words 
to  be  found  in  coUoquial  Welsh,  though  they  seldom  get  into 
books.     Students  of  EngUsh  philology  ought  to  be  able  to 
teU  us  whether  frit  had  the  meaning  here  suggested  in  any 
part  of  EngLand,  and  how  lately;  also,  whether  there  was 
such  a  phrase  as  ''  siUy  frit"  in  use.     After  penning   this, 
I  receiyed   the   foUowing   interesting   communication  from 
Mr.    WüUam    Jones    of    LlangoUen : — The    term  sìli   ffrit 
was    in   use   at    Beddgelert,  and  what  was  thereby  meant 
was   a   child   of   the    Tyhmjth   Tcg.      It   is   stiU   used   for 
any   creature   that    is   smaUer   than   ordinary.      "Pooh,    a 
siUy  frit  Uke  that !"  {Pw,  rhyw  sili  ffrit  fd  yna  !).     "  Mrs. 
So-and-so  has  a  fine  chihl."     "  Hah,  do  you  caU  a  siUy  frit 
Uke  that  a  fine  child  ?"     {Mac  gan  hon  a  hon  blentyn  hraf. 
Ho,  a  yclych  chwi  yn  gaho  rliyw  süi  ffrit  fcl  hwna  yn  hrafT) 
But  to  return  to  Leisa  Bèla  and  Belene,  it  may  be  that  the 
same  person  was  meant  by  both  these  names,  but  I  am  in  no 
hurry  to  identify  them,  as  none  of  my  correspondents  knows 
the  latter  except  Mr.  Hughes,  who  gives  it  on  the  authority 
of  Gutyn  Peris,  the  bard,  and  nothiug  further  so  far  as  I  can 
understand,  whereas  Bèla  wiU  come  before  us  in  another  story, 
as   it   is  the  same  name,    T   presume,  which  Glasynys  has 
speUed  Bclla  in  "  Cyraru  Eu". 

These  tales  are  brought  into  connection  with  the  present 
day  in  more  ways  than  one,  for  besides  the  various  accounts 
of  the  hwganod  ur  bogies  of  Corwrion  frightening  people 
when  out  late  at  night,  Mr.  D.  E.  Davies  knows  a  man,  who 
is  stUl  Uving,  and  who  weU  remembers  the  time  when  the 
sound  of  working  used   to  be  heard   in  thc  hike,  and  the 


WELSII   FAIRY   TALES.  213 

Yoices  of  cliildrcn  crying  there  somewhere  in  its  depths,  but 
that  when  people  rushed  there  to  see  what  the  matter  was, 
all  was  found  profoundly  quiet  and  still.  ]\Ioreover,  there  is 
a  family  or  two,  now  numerously  represented  in  the  parishes 
of  Llandegai  and  Llanllechid,  who  used  to  be  taunted  with 
being  the  offspring  of  fairy  ancestors.  One  of  these  families 
was  nicknamed  "Smychiaid"  or  "  Simychiaid"  ;  and  my  infor- 
mant,  who  is  not  yet  quite  forty,  says  that  he  heard  his  mother 
repeat  scores  of  times  that  the  old  people  used  to  say  that  the 
Smychiaid,  who  were  very  numerous  in  the  neighbourhood, 
were  descended  from  fairies,  and  that  they  came  from  Cor- 
wrion  Lake.  At  all  this  the  Smychiaid  were  wont  to  grow 
mightily  angry,  Another  tradition,  he  says,  about  them  was 
that  it  was  a  wandering  family  that  arrived  in  the  district 
from  the  direction  of  Conwy,  and  that  the  father's  name  was 
Simwch,  or  rather  that  was  his  nickname,  based  on  the 
proper  name  Simwnt,  which  appears  to  have  once  been 
the  prevalent  name  in  Llandegai.  The  order  of  these  words 
would  in  that  case  have  been  Simwnt,  Simwch,  Simychiaid, 
Smychiaid.  Now  "  Sim\vnt"  seems  to  be  merely  the  Welsh 
form  given  to  some  such  English  nam.e  as  Simond,  just  as 
Edmund  or  Edmond  becomes  in  North  Wales  "  Emwnt".  The 
objection  to  the  nickname  seems  to  lie  in  the  fact,  which  one 
of  my  correspoudents  points  out  to  me,  that  "  Simwch"  is  un- 
derstood  to  mean  a  monkey,  a  point  on  which  I  sliould  like 
to  have  further  information.  Pughe  gives  Simach,  it  is  true, 
as  having  that  meaning.  A  brancli  of  the  same  family  is 
said  to  be  called  "y  Cowperiaid"  or  the  Coopers,  from  an 
ancestor  who  was  either  by  name  or  by  trade  a  cooper.  Mr. 
Hughes's  account  of  the  Smychiaid  is,  that  they  are  the  de- 
scendants  of  one  Simonds,  wlio  came  to  be  a  bailiíf  at  Bodye- 
gallan,  and  moved  from  there  to  Coetmor  in  the  same  neigh- 
bourhood.  Simonds  was  obnoxious  to  the  bards,  he  goes  on 
to  say,  and  thcy  described  the  Smychiaid  as  having  arrived 

q2 


214  WELSH   FAIRY  TALES. 

in  the  parisli  at  tlie  bottom  of  a  cawell  or  basket  carried  on 

tlie  l)ack,  when  chance  would  have  it  that  the  cawcll  broke 

just  in  that  neiglilìourhood,  at  a  place  called  Pont  y  LLan. 

Tliat  accident  is  described,  says  Mr.  Hughes,  in  the  folhny- 

ing  doggerel,  tlie  origin  of  which  I  do  not  know — 

"  E  dorai  'r  arwest,  edc  wan, 
Brwnt  y  lle,  ar  Bont  y  Llan." 

Curiously  enough,  the  same  caiücll  story  used  to  be  said  of 
a  widely-spread  family  in  North  Cardiganshire,  whose  sur- 
name  was  pronounced  Massn  and  written  Mason  or  Mazon ; 
as  my  mother  was  of  this  family,  I  have  often  heard  it.  Tlie 
cawell,  if  I  remember  rightly,  was  said,  in  this  instance,  to  have 
come  from  Scotland,  to  which  were  traced  three  men  who 
settled  in  Nortli  Cardiganshire.  One  had  no.descendants, 
biit  the  other  two,  Mason  and  Peel  (I  think  his  name  was 
Peel,  but  I  am  not  sure  about  it,  only  that  it  was  not  Welsli), 
had  so  many,  that  the  Masons,  at  any  rate,  are  exceedingly 
numerous  tliere ;  but  a  great  many  of  them,  owing  to  some 
extent,  probably,  to  the  cawell  story,  have  been  silly  enough 
to  change  their  surname  into  that  of  Jones  within  my  know- 
ledge.  I  have  never  heard  it  suggested  that  they  were  of 
aquatic  origin,  but,  tahing  the  cawcll  into  consideration,  and 
the  popular  account  of  the  Smychiaid,  I  should  be  inclined 
to  think  that  the  caiücll  originally  referred  to  some  such  a 
supposed  descent.  I  only  hope  that  somebody  will  help  us 
with  another  and  a  longer  ccmell  tale,  which  wiU  make  up  for 
the  brevity  of  these  allusions.  We  may,  however,  assume,  I 
think,  that  there  was  a  tendency  at  one  time  in  Arvon,  if  not 
in  other  parts  of  the  Principality,  to  believe  or  pretend  to 
believe,  that  the  descendants  of  an  Englishman  or  Scotch- 
man,  who  settled  among  the  okI  inhabitants,  were  of  fairy 
origin,  and  that  their  history  was  somehow  uncanny,  which 
was  all,  of  course,  duly  resented.  This  helps,  to  some  extent, 
tc)  explain   how  such   names  of  doubtful   origin   have  got 


WELSII    FAIRY   TALES.  215 

iiito  tbese  tales  as  Sìnychiaid,  Gow^jcriaid,  Pellings,  Penelope, 
Leisa  BUa  or  Isahella,  and  tlie  like.  This  association  oí' 
the  lake  legends  with  intruders  from  without  is  what  has, 
perhaps,  to  a  great  measure  served  to  rescue  them  from 
oblÌYÌon. 

As  to  a  church  at  Corwrion,  the  tradition  does  not  seem 
to  be  an  old  one,  and  it  appears  founded  on  one  of  the  popu- 
lar  etymologies  of  the  word  Corwrion,  which  treats  the  first 
syllable  as  cor  in  the  sense  of  a  choir ;  but  the  word  has  other 
meanings,  including  among  them  that  of  an  ox-stall  or  enclo- 
sure  for  cattle.  Taking  this  as  coming  near  the  true  explana- 
tion,  it  at  once  suggests  itself  that  Creuwyryon  in  tlie  Mahinogi 
of  j\Iath  ab  ]\Iathonwy  is  the  same  place,  for  creu  or  crcm  also 
meant  an  enclosure  for  animals,  not  even  excluding  swine.  In 
Irish  the  word  is  cró,  an  enclosure,  a  hut  or  hovel.  The  pas- 
sage  in  the  Mahinogi  relates  to  Gwydion  returning  with  the 
swine  he  had  got  by  dint  of  magic  and  deceit  from  Pryderi 
prince  of  Dyfed,  and  runs  thus  in  Lady  Charlotte  Guest's 
translation :  "  So  they  journeyed  on  to  the  highest  town  of 
Arllechwedd,  and  there  they  made  a  sty  (creu)  for  the  swine, 
and  therefore  was  the  name  of  Creuwyryon  givén  to  that  town." 
As  to  wyrion  or  i'jyryon,  which  we  find  made  into  wrion  in 
Corwrion  according  to  the  modern  habit,  it  would  seem  to  be 
no  other  word  than  the  usual  plural  of  wyr,  a  grandson, 
formerly  also  any  descendant  in  the  direct  line.  If  so,  the 
name  of  an  ancestor  must  have  originally  followed,  just  as 
one  of  the  places  called  Bettws  was  once  "  Bettws  Wyrion 
Iddon";  butit  is  possiblethaf'Wyrion"  inCreu-  or  Cor-Wyrion 
■\\as  itself  a  man's  name,  though  I  have  never  met  with  it. 
It  is  right  to  add  that  the  name  appears  in  the  record  of  Car- 
narvon  as  Creweryon,  wliich  carries  us  back  to  the  first  half 
of  the  fourteenth  century.  There  it  occurs  as  the  name  of  a 
township  containing  eight  gavels,  and  tlie  particulars  about 
it  might,  in  tlie  hand  oí"  a  nuui  familiar  with  tlic  tenures 


216  WELSH   FAIRY   TALES. 

of  that  time,  perhaps  give  us  valnable  information  as  to  what 
may  have  been  its  status  at  a  still  earlier  date. 

In  the  next  number  I  hope  to  be  able  to  say  something  of 
the  versions  of  the  lake  legends  which  are  extant  at  Drws 
y  Coed  and  elsewhere,  and  I  should  be  exceedingly  thanhful 
for  any  correction  or  any  scrap  of  information  bearing  on  this 
subject  from  any  other  part  of  the  Principality.  Nothing 
will  be  published  without  duly  acknowledging  whence  it 
comes.  If  space  should  allow  of  it,  some  remarks  will  be 
added  at  the  end  on  the  general  character  of  this  kind  of 
folk-lore,  its  place  in  Celtic  mythology,  and  what  it  has  in 
common  with  the  legends  of  other  nations.  But  I  expect 
that  the  legends,  when  brought  together,  will  to  a  great  ex- 
tent  explain  one  another,  and  leave  me  little  to  do  by  way 
of  explaining  them. 


217 


A   CELTO-SLAVONIC  SUFFIX. 


The  Britannic  languages — Welsli,  Cornisli,  and  Breton — liave 

aiuong    their  substantives  some  which  Welsh  grammarians 

call  Collectives  and  Singulatives.     As  the  reader  knows,  Col- 

lectives  are  suhstantives  which  have  a  plural  force  without  a 

plural  ending ;  and  the  Singulatives,  i.e.,  those  forms  which 

are   employed  to  designate  a  single  object,  have  this  pecu- 

liarity — they  appear  to  be  formed  from  the  Collective.   These 

Singulatives  end  in  -Ì7i  (now  written  -yn)  for  the  masculine, 

and  in  -cn  for  the  feminine. 

Examples  :  Welsh : — 

Adar,  birds  ;  aderyn.,  a  bird. 
Plant.,  children  ;  lüentyn,  a  child. 
Derw,  oaks  ;  derwcn,  an  oak. 
Gwenyn,  bees ;  gwenynen,  a  bee.' 


Cornish : — 


Breton 


Gicytliy  arbores  ;  guidcn,  arbor. 
Deyl,  folia ;  delen.,  folium.* 


Kaol,  des  choux  ;  lcaolen,  un  chou. 
Stered,  des  étoiles  ;  stereden.,  une  étoile. 
Faô,  des  hêtres ;  faôen,  un  hêtre. 
Gwenan,  des  abeilles ;  gwenanen,  une  abeille.^ 

Most  Welsh  grammarians  record  these  facts  under  the 
heading,  "  Formation  of  the  Singular  from  the  Plural",  and 

1  líowlaud's  Wehh  Grammar,  4th  edit.,  p.  83.  -  Zcuss-,  p.  297. 

3  Le  Gonidec,  Grammaire  bretonne,  ed.  La  Villemarquó  (prefixed  to 
the  Dict.  hreton-français),  p.  17.  It  wiU  be  seen  that  Cornish  and 
Bretou  have  ouly  the  sufíix  -en  ;  in  Breton,  singulatiyes  in  -en  are  always 
fcminine.     Hiugaut,  Elénienls  de  la  grammaire  brelonnc,  p.  12,  n 


218  A   CELTO-SLAYONIC   SUFFIX. 

the  Breton  gramniarians  express  tliemselves  in  tlie  same  way. 
The  enormity  of  this  theory  does  not  strihe  them,  and  they 
look  for  no  historic  or  organic  explanation  of  this  curioiis 
parallelism.  However,  an  old  Welsh  grammarian,  J.  Davies, 
in  his  Anfiqnae  Lingnae  Britannicae  Rudimcnta}  had  (as  we 
are  reminded  by  Zenss,2  p.  295)  caught  a  glimpse  of,  and  for- 
mulated,  a  perfectly  natural  explanation,  which  we  proceed 
to  develop  here.^ 

The  explanation  of  these  forms  in  -yn  and  -en  is  very 
simple ;  and  that  it  did  not  present  itself  to  the  mind  of  the 
Welsh  and  Breton  grammarians  (J.  Davies  excepted),  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  language  has  no  longer  auy  consciousness 
that  these  forms  are  diminutives.  It  is  what  has  occurred, 
for  instance,  in  French,  in  the  case  of  such  words  as  soleil  from 
*"soliculus",  sommeil  from  *  "somniculus",  aheille  from 
"apicula",  grenouille  from  "ranuncula",  aiguille  from  "acicula", 
etc.  It  isthe  case  in  German  as  regards  mädchen,veilchen,ete. 
— diminutives  of  which  the  primitive  has  hecome  almost  or  en- 
tirely  ohsolete,  and  which  have  hy  usage  acquired  the  full  force 
of  the  primitive  which  they  have  displaced.  The  same  pheno- 
menon  occurred  in  Latin,  as  is  seen  by  such  words  as  annulus, 
oculus,  puella,  etc.  The  simple  term  is  readily  supplanted  by 
the  diminutive,  especiaUy  when  the  former  is  a  monosyllable  ; 
and  then  the  language  uses  the  derivative — originally  dimi- 
nutive — without  any  recoUection  of  the  particular  significa- 
tion  it  bore  Mdien  first  formed. 

1  Pp.  6L-2  of  the  Oxford  reprint  in  12mo.,  1809. 

2  It  is  scarcely  worth  obserying  that  to  tliis  class  of  nouns  must  be 
aflded  those  which,  ending  in  -yn,  masc.  ;  aud  -en,  fem. ;  "throw  off 
these  terminations  when  the  plural  termination  is  added"  (Rowlands,  p. 
32),     Example — 

Merlyn,  pony  (masc.) 
Merlen,  pony  (fem.)  ;  pl.,  mcrlod. 
Mcddiryn,  a  drvmkard  ;  pl.,  meddwon. 
Llijsií'cn,  an  cel  ;  pl.,  ìhjsú-od^  etc. 


A    CELTO-SLAVONIC   SUFFIX.  219 

Now  Welsli  lias  among  its  suffixes  of  diminiition  -yn  for 
the  masc.  and  -en  for  tlie  fem.  Tliese  euable  us  to  under- 
stand  the  nature  and  the  origin  of  the  so-called  Singulatives. 

Bachgciìi/n,  a  littlo  boy  ;  from  hachgen,  a  boy. 
Merlyn^  a  little  horse  ;  from  ine?-!,  a  pony. 
Miaren,  a  little  bramble ;  from  miar,  a  bramble. 

The  su{Iìx  -eìi,  which  forms  feminine  nouns,  is  the  feminine 
form  that  regularly  corresponds  to  -yn  masc,  as  is  seen  by  the 
adjectives  which  admit  of  internal  flexion ;  e.g.,  gyjyn  m., 
gioen  f.,  white,  etc.  Cornish  and  Breton  have  lost  this  dimi- 
nutive  suffix. 

It  is  by  this  suffix  Ihat  the  "  Singulative"  is  most  satisfac- 
torily  explained.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  "Collectives"  are 
old  plurals  preserved  in  the  language,  while  the  Singulative  is 
the  singular  strengthened  by  the  suffix  of  diminution.  The 
forms  of  the  singular,  the  endings  of  which  were  not  so 
heavy  as  those  of  the  plural,  were  found  too  light,  when  these 
very  endings  had  been  worn  away.  The  language  felt  the 
necessity  of  giving  them  ballast,  and  the  example  of  otlier 
languages  (compare  the  French,  German,  and  Latin  words 
quoted  above)  shows  that  the  diminutive  endings  are  fre- 
quently  used  for  this  purpose.  The  hypocoristic  tendency, 
the  instinct  which  leads  to  the  formation  of  familiar  names 
and  terms  of  endearment,  aids  greatlyin  tliis  work  of  regene- 
ration  of  the  simple  substantive.  These  diminutives  once 
created,  the  language  had  a  sufficiently  clear  consciousness 
of  the  difference  between  the  singular  and  tlie  plural  to  make 
it  necessary,  for  the  most  part,  to  add  the  new  plural  euding  to 
these  old  plurals,  which  had  become,  in  a  manner,  petrified 
as  collectives. 

An  analogous  phenomenon,  in  which  the  suffix,  too,  is  thc 
same,  appears  in  the  Slavonic  languages ;  and  of  the  origin 
of  this,  again,  tlie  Slavonic  grammarians   (such  of  theni,  at 


220  A   CELTO-SLAVONIC   SUFFIX. 

least,  as  we  have  consulted)  give  no  explanation.  Thus,  in 
Eussian,  the  nouns  which  form  the  fifth  paradigm  of  the 
declension  in  the  grammar  of  Eeiff,^  i.e.,  nouns  ending  in 
-ianine,  -anine,  -iarine,  and  -arine,  and  denoting  origin  or 
state,  "  do  not  take  in  the  plural  the  suffìx  -me".     Ex  : — 

SING.  PLUR. 

Rossianine,  a  Russian.  Rossiané,  Russians. 

Sélanine,  a  yillager.  Sélianê,  yiUagers. 

Boiarine,  a  lorcl.  Boiaré,  lords. 

Grazdanine,  a  citizen.  Grazdane,  citizens,  etc. 

"  These  words,"  says  M.  Eeiff,  "  have  two  stems,  the  one 
sélanine,  containing  a  pronominal  suffix  -in,  the  other 
séliané."  A  pronominal  suf&x !  That  is  more  easily  said 
than  proved.  The  learned  M.  Leskien,  in  his  grammar  of 
old  Slavonic,  confìnes  himself  to  a  statement  of  the  fact 
without  seehing  any  explanation  of  it.^ 

It  appears  to  us  certain  that  this  suffix  i-n-  is  a  secondary 
form  of  the  Indo-European  suffix  NA.  It  is  curious  to  find 
it  localised,  with  the  same  force,  at  the  two  extremities  of 
the  European  branch,  in  the  Slavonic  and  in  the  Britannic 


languages. 


H.  Gaidoz. 


1  Grammaire  française-russe^  par  Reiff,  4e  ed.,  revue  par  M.  Leger, 
Paris,  1878,  p.  40. 

2  Leskien,   Handbuch  der  aît-huhjarischen  Sprache,   Weimar,   1871, 
p.  36. 


221 


A     CYWYDD 

TO 

SIR  EDWARD  STRADLTNG  AND  DR.  JOHN  DAVID  RHYS 

UPON  THE 
PUBLICATION  OF  THE   LATTER'S  WELSH   GRAMMAR, 

From  a  3IS.  in  thc  possession  of  Mr.  Ll.  Reynolds,  B.A.,  o/  Merthyr 

Tydvil. 


Of  the  writer  of  this  Cywydd,  Meirig  Davydd,  not  much 
is  recorded.  Williams,  in  his  Eminent  Welshmen,  says  he 
was  "  an  eminent  poet  of  Glamorgan,  who  presided  in  the 
Gorsedd  Morganwg  in  the  year  1560,  and  died  in  1600". 
As  Dr.  Rhys's  Grammar,  Camhrobrytannic^  Cymraemve 
Lingii^  Institutiones  et  Budimenta,  published  at  the  sole 
expense  of  Sir  Edward  Stradling,  appeared  in  1592,  it  fol- 
lows  that  this  composition  was  written  between  that  year 
and  1600. 

Sir  Edward  Stradling  was  born  in  1529,  and  died  in  his 
eiglitieth  year,  1609. 


Llyma  Gywydd  I  Syr  Edwar  Ystradling  ag  ir  Docrdor 
Dayydd  am  y  Gramer  Kymraeg. 


Y  marchog  rywiog  benn  raith, 
jor  syth  waew  a  wyr  saithjaith, 
Syr  Edwart  mewn  hasart  jng 
js  di  radlafn  ystradling  : 
ef  yw'r  hydd  penn  Uywydd  Uwyd 
jawn  son  dawn  yn  sain  Dynwyd. 


222  A   CYWYDD   TO    SIR   EDWARD    STRADLING 

oes  Addaf  hynaf  yw  hwnn, 

a  brav  ytiw  ir  brytwn. 

nidoes  vn  brigyn  or  brig 

mawr  vwyn  hawdd  mor  vonheddig ;  lo 

vn  vodd  yw'r  marchog  jawnfwyn 

ar  bymtheg  llin  teg  or  Uwyn; 

Uyna  Iwyn  llawn  olaini 

llawn  glod  oll  nerth  yn  gwlad  ni : 

roes  nerth  yn  jor  grasvwyn  hv  10 

rann  rag  kamran  ir  kymrv 

i  gael  Gramer  goel  grymiaith 

brauYwyn  jor  i  bryvo  n  jaith, 

val  na  bo  i  sais  0  drais  draw 

vn  bawaidd  mwy  yn  baiaw,  20 

na  baio  gwaith  na  bywyd 

yn  hawen  vairdd,  na  n  hen  vyd. 

mae  gwarant  penn  voliant  per 

orav  grym  ar  y  gramer 

dockdor  por  gwyddor  ir  gwaith —  25 

dyn  yw  a  wyr  daunawjaith; 

kymro  gwych  or  kymry  gwiw, 

klennig  dysgedig  ydiw ; 

gwr  yw  aü  jpo  gywrain, 

gorav  swydd  mewn  gair  a  sain ;  30 

kyviaithydd  dedwydd  didwyll 

jaith  harddj  ny  vynn  bai  na  thwyll. 

naddoedd  ysgryvenyddiaeth, 

yn  Uawn  ag  yn  jawn  i  gwnaeth: 

kyviaithyddiaeth  oedd  gaeth  gynt,  35 

kair  i  bo  gair  i  gerynt: 

kystrawaeth  kost  ar  awen 

kywir  byth  i  kair  oi  benn: 

tonyddiaeth  halaeth  hylawn 

a  gair  mewn  llevair  yn  llawn.  10 


AND    DK.  JOIIN    DAYID    HIIYS,  223 

mewn  y  Gramer  per  heb  hjTin 

m\vyv\\y  i  kair  y  movyn 

athrawiaeth  prydyddiaeth  prin 

osod  oedd  waith  Taliesin. 

well  well,  tra  vo  bwyell  byd,  45 

y w  kael  vydd  pob  helfyddyd ; 

ag  waeth-waeth,  o  sywaeth  son, 

i  doniav  \^dd  y  dynion. 

kann  gwell  waithon  mewn  ton  teg 

kam  ryw  a  vydd  kymraueg ;  50 

Sion  a  roes  ym  synwyr  j 

liynt  aurnod  warant  erni ; 

Gric  Uadin  di  brin  yn  brynt 

gradd  addysc  grjaidd  yddynt ; 

fyr  he]n  geh^ddyd  wiw  rwydd  55 

[o]  gerddwriaeth  gardd  arwydd, 

a  phob  kolfen  hen  ddwfn  ddysg 

[u]niawn  hoewddawn  yn  hyddysg, 

[pob]  mesurav  saraplav  son 

holl  jawn  oll  a  pheuillon,  60 

a  phob  kynghanedd  hoff  hynt 

hyno  a  pha  le  henynt, 

au  henwav  hoff  rywiav  ffraeth 

hwynt  herwydd  i  naturiaeth  : 

mae  baiav  anavav  want  r.5 

mal  llygod  aml  i  Uwygant 

yny  gerdd  rai  enwog  ynt 

adwyth  ag  anardd  ydynt. 

mae  statvs  weddvs  wiwddawn 

yw  gweled  oll  galed  jawn  70 

ar  gerddwyr  or  gywirddysg, 

ar  rai  na  bai  divai  dysg. 

gwae  brydydd  or  dydd,  or  daw 

dyrnod  eisteddfod  arnaw. 


224  A   CYWYDD. 


ony  wyr  yn  Uwyr  holl  jaith  75 

y  llyfr  hwnii  llavar  henjaith. 

da  vy  r  marchog  pwyllog  pell 

a  gostawdd  hwnn  oi  gastell ; 

da  vy  r  dockdor  kyngor  kaU 

o  dduw  a  vy  ny  ddeaU ;  so 

da  duw  jr  gwyr  daidiau  gwaith,' 

duw  dalo  i  daed  eUwaith. 

Maieig  Davydd  aì  hant. 


ITie  preceding  composition  is  printed  exactly  as  it  appears  in  the  MS., 
•with  only  the  addition  of  the  bracketed  letters  in  lines  55,  56,  and  58, 
suggested  by  Mr.  Reynolds ;  the  word  "  pob",  in  line  59  ;  and  the 
punctuation,  there  being  no  stops  in  the  MS.  copy. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  transcriber's  orthography  is  not  consistent : 
thus  he  uses  v  for  the  present  m,  and  for  the  consonantal  sound  of  the 
English  i',  for  which  he  also  uses/,  as  we  now  do.  Again  the  sound  of 
i  consonans  he  variously  represents  by  i,  and  by  y,  while  he  uses  the 
latter  occasionally  as  a  pure  vowel  also,  as  in  liues  29,  51,  etc. 

In  this  cyu-ydd  the  author  has  "  enriched"  the  lauguage  with  a  number 
of  unrecorded  words.  These  are  sytJi-waew  (1.  2),  rhadlafn  (1.  4), 
maiowicyn  (1.  10),  iawnfwyn  (1.  11),  grasfwyn  (1.  15),  grymiaith  (1.  17), 
lrauvwyn  (1.  18),  clennig  (1.  28),  cerynt  (1.  36  :  this  word  appears  in 
Pugh's  Dict.,  3rd  edition,  in  a  quotation  of  the  present  couplet  under 
cyfachyddiaeth,  but  is  not  recorded  in  its  proper  place  in  the  body  of  the 
work),  aurnod  (1.  52),  hoewddaicn  (1.  58),  hoUjawn  (1.  60),  giviivddawn 
(1.  69),  cytcirddysg  (1.  71),  dned  (1.  82). 

L.  6,  Sain  I)ymcyd=St.  Donat's,  the  residence  of  the  Stradlings. 

L.  29,  jpo  doubtless  means  Hipjjocrates,  with  whom  the  grammarian, 
as  a  Doctor  of  Medicine  of  Sienna,  and  a  very  able  physician,  îs 
naturally  compared. 

L.  30,  gorac  is  for  gormi,  not  goraf,  as  the  alliteration  proves. 

L.  35,  lcyciaithyddiaeth.   The  reading  in  Pugh's  JJict.  is  cyfachyddiaeth. 

L.  36,  tair  i  bo,  etc,     Bo  is  a  clerical  error  for  hob. 

L.  41,  mewn  is  here  used  before  the  defiuite  article  contrary  to  the 
rule  set  down  by  modern  grammarians,  who  would  say  "  yu  y  graraer". 

L.  82,  daed  is  probably  a  noun,  "  God  repay  them  their  goodness". 


225 


A   HISTORICAL   POEM   BY    lOLO    GOCIL 


In  the  year  1877,  the  publication  of  "The  Works  of  lolo 
Goch",  with  a  sketch  of  his  life,  was  commenced  in  the  first 
Yoliime  of  the  Cymmrodor,  by  its  first  able  and  lamented 
editor,  the  Eeyerend  Eobert  Jones,  Yicar  of  All  Saints, 
Piotherhithe,  and  was  subsequently  continued  in  the 
second  vohime,  when  the  work  was  interrupted  by  the 
necessity  for  the  introduction  of  more  urgent  matter 
after  the  completion  of  thirteen  of  the  poems.  It  is 
greatly  to  be  hoped  that  the  undertaking,  thus  auspi- 
ciously  begun,  may  not,  for  lack  of  means  or  opportunity,  be 
eventually  allowed  to  drop.  In  the  brief  outliue  of  the 
poet's  life,  by  the  late  Canon  Eobert  Williams,  in  that  most 
useful  work,  the  Didionary  of  Emincnt  Welshmcn,  it  is  said 
that  more  than  fifty  of  his  poems  are  still  extant  in  manu- 
script,  and  obviously  the  publication  of  these  in  their  entirety 
will  be  needed  to  enable  the  present  generation  to  form  an 
adequate  judgment  of  the  genius  and  capacity  of  the  bard, 
and  to  appreciate  to  the  full  the  value  of  the  allusions  they 
contain  to  the  important  historical  events  which  were  pass- 
ing  around  him,  and  in  some  of  which,  in  his  capacity  of  a 
vates  sacer,  he  would  appear  to  have  borne  personally  no  in- 
significant  a  part.  The  compositions  may  be  classified  roughly 
under  the  headings  of  1.  Eeligious;  2.  Historical;  3.  Encom- 
iastic.  Of  these,  those  comprised  under  the  second  must 
naturally  attract  the  first  attention ;  while  the  third  class 
wiU  be  looked  to  by  those  who  would  view  society  in  those 
troublous  times  in  its  more  private  and  social  relations ;  and 
the  state  of  religious  hnowlcdge  and  practice  can  scarcely 


226  A   HISTOmCAL   POEM    BY    lOLO    GOCH. 

fail  to  derive  poiut  and  iUustration  from  the  quaint  and 
often  obscure  language  of  the  íirst.  To  the  philologist,  the 
frequent  occurrence  of  terms  and  forms  of  speech,  current  in 
the  poet's  day,  but  scarcely  intelligible  now,  cannot  but 
prove  highly  instructive ;  a  remark  for  the  truth  of  which 
suf&cient  evidence  has  been  furnished  by  the  poems  abeady 
in  our  hands.  In  the  form  as  well  as  the  matter  of  Cymric 
poetry,  the  worhs  of  lolo  may  be  said  to  bridge  over  the 
period  between  the  ruder,  if  more  majestic,  metrical  produc- 
tions  of  his  predecessors,  and  the  more  finished  performances 
of  those  who  came  after  him.  During  his  acme,  comprising 
the  earlier  half  of  the  fourteenth  century,  the  form  of  verse 
known  as  the  "  Cywydd"  became  more  recognised  as  a  legi- 
timate  expression  of  poetical  feeling  than  heretofore,  when, 
speaking  generaUy,  it  had  been  for  some  time  but  sparsely 
introduced,  or  was  worhing  its  way  very  gradually  into  use  ; 
while  in  Davydd  ab  Gwilym,  w^ho  so  prominently  occupied 
the  public  attention  in  Wales  during  the  last  part  of  the 
century,  it  attained  to  an  ease,  a  grace,  and  a  perfection, 
never  reached  before,  and  certainly  never  since  surpassed. 

lolo  Goch,  then,  may  be  said  to  have  occupied  as  a  poet 
an  intermediate  position  between  the  last  of  the  "  Gogyn- 
feirdd",  properly  so  called,  and  Dafydd  ab  Gwilym  and  the 
bards  who  adopted  the  more  modern  style,  metre,  and  dic- 
tion  of  the  Cywydd  and  Awdl  writers  of  the  fifteenth  and 
subsequent  centuries,  with  little  or  no  intermission,  down  to 
our  own  day.  Nor  was  this  aU.  He  made  his  mark  also  às 
a  man  of  letters,  whose  attainments  in  classical,  historical, 
and  general  learning  w^ere  at  least  equal  to,  and  probably  far 
superior  to  those  of  most  of  his  lay  contemporaries.  To  his 
knowledge  of  Latin,  a  Dialoguc  hetween  the  Soul  and  the  Bocly, 
translated  from  that  language,  and  extant  among  his  works 
in  MS.,  wiU  testify.  Possessed  of  independent  means,  and 
born  of  a  good  family,  and  maternally  of  Euglish  blood,  his 


A   IIISTORICAL   rOEM   BY   lOLO   GOCII.  227 

motlier,  it  is  said,  being  Countess  of  Lincoln,i  he  received  an 
excellent  education,  and  took  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  at 
one  of  the  Universities.  As  Lord  of  Llechryd,  and  residing 
at  his  own  mansion  of  Coed  Pantwn  in  Llannefydd,  and,  in 
later  life,  at  Sychartli,  that  of  his  royal  patron  Owain  Glyn- 
dower,  he  had  ample  opportunity  for  the  cultivation  of  liis 
favourite  studies.  Not  only,  therefore,  in  his  ofíìcial  cha- 
racter  as  bard,  but  also  from  his  own  social  position,  lie  had 
ready  access  to  intercourse  with  the  highest  in  the  land,  and 
might  have  attained  to  any  height  of  eminence  and  court 
favour,  had  his  patriotism  permitted  him,  for  the  sake  of 
private  advancement,  to  choose  the  winning  side.  Of  this 
there  is  ample  testimony  in  the  poem  perhaps  best  known 
of  all  his  compositions  to  modern  readers,  through  its  publi- 
cation  in  the  coUection  entitled  "  Gorchestion  Beirdd  Cymru", 
of  Cymric  chef-d'oeuvres,  as  they  appeared  to  be  in  the  judg- 
ment  of  their  spirited  editor,  Ehys  Jones,  printed  in  1773, 
and  paraphrased  in  his  book,  called  Wilcl  Wales,  by  the  late 
Mr.  Borrow.  That  poem,  with  another  from  the  same  collec- 
tion,  has  been  reproduced  in  tlie  present  year,  in  the  History  of 
Pow7/s  Fadog,  by  J.  Y.  W.  Lloyd,  Esq.  of  Clochfaen,  an 
esteemed  member  of  our  Cymmrodorion  Society ;  but  unac- 
companied  with  any  translation.  This,  in  the  case  of  the 
latter  of  the  two  poems,  tlie  following  is  an  attempt  to  supply, 
so  far  as  that  may  be  possible,  througli  the  medium  of  a 
metrical  interpretation,  by  adhering  as  closely  as  may  be  to 
the  diction  as  well  as  spirit  of  the  original.  It  is  entitled 
"An  Ode  to  Owain  Glyndwr  after  his  Disappearance",  aud 
is  couched  in  a  strain  of  lamentation  for  his  absence,  and  of 
invitatiou  to  return  with  forces  gathered  from  among  the 
nations  of  Europe,  and  restore  their  sovereignty,  together 
with  their  laws  and  liberty,  to  the  Cymry.  The  immediate 
occasion  of  the  poem  is  probably  an  episode  iii  tlie  story  of 

'  Query,  a  De  Lacy  ? 
VOL.  IV.  K 


228  A   HISTORICAL   POEM   BY   lOLO   GOCH. 

tlie  Cymric  hero,  wliich  has  been  involved  in  some  obscnrity, 
and  on  which  it  appears  to  throw  no  inconsiderable  reflection 
of  light. 

The  battle  of  Shrewsbury  was  fought  on  the  21st  of  June 
1403,  in  which  the  first  division  only  of  Glendower^s  army 
was  defeated  in  his  absence.  Detained  by  the  siege  of  Kid- 
weli,  he  had  marched  no  nearer  to  the  scene  of  tliat  famous 
conflict  than  Oswestry.  He  then  confined  his  operations  to 
devastating  the  English  borders,  and  possessing  himself  of 
the  enemy's  castles,  among  them  tliose  of  Caermarthen  and 
Emlyn.  In  1404,  he  entered  into  a  treaty  with  the  Erench 
King,  Charles  VI,  then  at  war  with  Henry  IV,  and  defeated 
an  English  army  at  Craig  y  Dorth,  near  Monmouth.  This 
was  his  last  success.  The  next  year  his  partizans  sustained 
two  defeats  in  Monmouthshire  and  Brechnochshire.  In  the 
latter  conflict  his  brother  Tudor,  Lord  of  Gwyddelwern,  was 
slain.  All  Glamorgan  submitted  to  the  King,  Owain's  fol- 
lowers  were  dispersed,  and  himself  obliged  to  hide  in  caves 
and  other  retreats. 

The  rest  shall  b.e  told  in  the  words  of  the  historian  of 
Powys  Fadog.  "  A  cavern  near  the  seaside  in  the  parish  of 
Llangelynen  in  Merionethshire  is  still  called  '  Ogof  Owain', 
in  which  he  was  supported  by  Ednyfed  ab  Aaron.  King 
Heury  again  entered  Wales  with  an  army  of  37,000  men, 
but,  owing  to  the  tempestuous  weather,  he  was  obliged 
to  make  a  hasty  retreat  with  considerable  loss.  Owaiç's 
affairs  were  again  improved  by  the  aid  of  his  ally,  the  King 
of  France,  who  sent  a  fleet  to  MiLford  Haven  with  an  army 
of  12,000  men,  wliom  Owain  joined  with  10,000  more  at 
Tenby ;  and  the  combined  armies  marched  into  Worcester- 
shire,  where  they  encamped,  and  were  opposed  by  the  English 
King.  For  eight  days  they  respectively  presented  them- 
selves  in  order  of  battle,  but,  beyond  shirmishes,  in  which 
many  were  slain,  nothing  more  decisive  occurred,  and  the 


A   HigTORICAL   POEM   BY   lOLO   GOCH.  229 

King  liaving  cut  off  tlie  mcans  of  supply,  tlie  Welsli  aud 
French  secretly  (?)  retreated  to  "Wales,  and  the  latter  re- 
turned  to  France  without  making  any  further  attempt."^ 

We  doubt  much  whether  many  readers  of  English  history 
have  fully  realised  the  fact  that  the  French  and  Welsh  in- 
vasion  of  England,  iu  1485,  was  preceded  by  another  of 
exceedingly  similar  character  eighty  years  before,  iu  which 
tlie  enemy  peuetrated,  if  uot  so  far  as  Bosworth,  at  least 
into  the  very  heart  of  the  country,  unopposed  till  they 
reached  Worcester;  an  expedition  which,  had  it  succeeded 
in  its  object,  would  have  probably  been  followed  by  a  more 
serious  consequence  even  than  the  transfer  of  the  Crown 
from  one  dynasty  to  another — the  dismemberment  of  the 
kingdom.  By  the  treaty  entered  into  a  few  years  before  by 
Mortimer,  Percy,  and  Glendower,  at  the  house  of  Davydd 
Daron,  Dean  of  Bangor,  it  had  been  agreed  that  ]\Iortimer 
was  to  possess  all  the  land  from  Trent  and  Severn  to  the 
east  and  south  of  the  island ;  Percy,  all  north  of  the  Trent ; 
and  Glendower  all  west  of  the  Severn.  France  also,  in 
return  for  its  valuable  aid,  w^ould  certainly  have  claimed  a 
share,  and  that  not  improbably  the  share  appropriated  by 
the  lion  in  the  distribution  of  the  conquered  country. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  those  momentous  issues  liave  happily 
long  since  passed  out  of  the  range  of  human  speculation, 
It  remains  but  to  add  that  it  is  to  this  portentous  time  of 
concealment,  when  the  landing  of  tlie  French  force  was 
being  anxiously  loohed  for  in  the  Principality,  that  the  poem 
is  in  all  probability  to  be  referred.  And  tlie  more  so,  be- 
cause  among  tlie  several  countries  specified  by  name  as  those 
wlience  Owain's  return  might  be  looked  for,  care  seenis 
studiously  to  have  been  taken  to  pass  over  entirely  in  silencc 
the  one  country,  namely  France,  froni  wliich  tlie  expected 
military  aid  afterwards  actually  came,  from  wliich  a  moun- 


1  Page  210. 


lî  L' 


230  A   HISTORTCAL  POEM   BY   lOLO    GOCH. 

tain  of  glorious  eventualities  was  looked  for  tlirougliout 
Wales  with  lieart-beating  anxiety.  rrom  all  tliis  travail, 
alas  !  as  in  so  many  other  projects  of  human  design  or  am- 
hition,  nothing  at  last  was  seen  to  issue  but  a  poor  insignifi- 
cant  mouse. 


AN  ODE  TO   OWEN  GLENDOWEE,  AFTEE  HIS 
DISAPPEAEANCE. 

By  Iolo  Goch. 

Tall  man,  thou  mark  for  Harry's  hate, 
Art  lÌYÌng  stiU  ?  is  past  thy  fate  ? 
If  thus  it  be,  with  fiery  spear 
Come,  show  thy  shield,  say,  "  I  am  here  !" 
Thou  gold-girt  Warrior,  seek  thine  home, 
Come  well  begirt  witli  arms  of  Eome. 
Coming  possest  of  Peter's  Seal, 
EuU  just  thy  cause  will  God  reveal. 
Come  from  the  East !  so  shall  o'erthrown, 
Thou  BuU  of  strength,  be  tow'rs  of  stone. 
Before  thee  rays  of  fire  be  shed,^ 
And  gifts  by  all  be  freely  spread. 
Erom  Lochlyn,^  Earl  of  keen-edged  sword, 
Come !  of  the  Glyn  thou  gen'rous  Lord, 
Who  bearest,  for  thy  shield's  contents 
A  fair  escutcheon,  four  descents ; 
Tbree  Lions,  as  the  empyrean,  blue  f 
Three  steel  frets  seen  the  wildfire  through. 
Set  we  the  stainless  Peacock  o'er, 
Set  you  a  Chief  o'er  Bear  and  Boar  :^ 

^  /.e.,  "  May  you  be  met  by  a  torch-light  procession." 

2  Norway.  ^  Heraldic  azure. 

^  Thc  bear,  the  badgc  of  Warvvick,  the  boar  of  Lovell. 


A   HISTORICAL   POEM   BY   lOLO    GOCII,  231 

So,  there  conjoined  are  axes  three, 
A  mighty  host  ^vhere  strifc  shall  be. 
Let  go  sev'n  nohle  ships  from  shore 
Full  soon,  and  then  sev'n  hundred  more. 
Come  from  the  North — 'tis  Mona's  will, 
To  Erin,  and  her  hope  fulfilh 
Call  also — may  God  grant  her  thee  ! 
Xeeds  must  thou  have  her— Italy ! 
Pure  Galahad,^  rise !  'we'll  hear  thy  call, 
Ere  fall  the  Baptist's  festival. 
Thy  beacon  raise,  brisk  Cldeftain,  haste 
In  Dublin  yonder,  o'er  the  waste ; 
Raise  a  fair  fleet  of  seamen's  power, 
In  confines  of  the  Gael,  and  Gower. 
Come,  Hero  of  my  heart !  betray'd 
From  Man,  and  be  not  long  delay'd. 
To  Gwyddyl,2  best  of  signals  sped 
For  fight  is  ever  Gold  and  Eed  f 
Lly welyn's^  Standard  consecrate ! 
Those  colours  will  thy  men  elate. 
Parade  before  thee  Britain^s  host ! 
Lo  !  Ensland  ^s  for  her  treason  lost ! 
Of  temper  true  thy  weapon  bring,^ 
And  reign  o^er  all  the  isles  a  king ! 
Eagle  of  might !  one  moment  more, 
And  light  a  flame  on  Mona's  shore. 
Beat  down  the  castles,  forts  of  woe, 
And  London,  lair  of  dogs,  lay  low. 


1  The  Knight  of  King  Arthur's  Table,  -who  for  his  purity  of  character, 
•was  permitted  to  seethe  Sangraal,  is  here  compared  to  Glendower. 

2  Irishmen.  ^  The  royal  colours  of  Wales. 
^  The  last  reigning  monarch  of  Wales. 

5  Lit.,  "  A  dagger  of  true  temper  thou". 


232  A   HISTORICAL   POEM   BY   lOLO   GOCH. 

Strike,  strike  and  slay !  let  JSTormans  ken 
That  liorns  of  gold^  liave  Mona's  men. 

Needs  must  thou — 'tis  of  prophecy — 
Full  many  a  bout  of  battle  ply ; 
Do  battle,  and  the  foe  shall  flee ; 
StiU  thou,  at  wiU,  canst  gentle  be ; 
But,  if  thine  arm  with  wrath  be  sped, 
In  distant  Berwick  see  the  dead ! 
Thy  fortune's  turn'd,  I  know  fuU  weU ; 
Thro'  summer  fight  with  conflict  feU ; 
Like  oaks,  thy  foes  shaU  faU  fuU  fast, 
Not  Yochno's^  fight  did  longer  Last. 
March  through  the  ford  of  leithon's^  glcn, 
With  Mona's  banner,  throngs  of  men ; 
Be  nine*  the  number  of  thy  fights  : 
Their  own,  nor  less,  nor  more  requites. 
Sword  of  Cadwalader  the  Blest  '^ 
Take  aU  thy  Grandsire  e'er  possess'd ! 
Take  back  for  aU  thy  kin  their  share ! 
From  us  take  bondage  hard  to  bear. 

H.  W.  L. 

>  Of  stfengtli  so  solid,  as  to  tlirust  back  their  enemies,  like  that  of 
bulls,  animals  to  which  the  bards  loved  to  compare  their  warriors. 

2  The  battle  of  Cors  Yochno  in  Cardiganshire,  whereby  Maelgwn 
Gwynedd  gained  his  crown.  3  ij,  Radnorshire. 

■*  The  mystic  number  of  the  Druidic  system,  symbolising  perfection. 

^'  The  last  Cymric  King  of  Britain,  whose  vcry  existence,  liowever, 
would  seem  to  be  uot  only  romantic,  but  mythical. 


233 


THE  NATIONAL   EISTEDDFOD   OF  1881. 
August  30th  to  Septcmher  2nd. 


Many  conditions  of  interest  attaclied  to  the  Eisteddfod  lield 
at  Merthyr  Tydfil  in  1881.  Frunkly  accepted  by  North  and 
South,  it  could  show  an  indisputable  title  to  the  name  of 
"  national".  Celebrated  in  the  metropolis  of  a  busy  indus- 
trial  district,  it  typified  the  cordial  union  of  old  and  new 
in  a  race  which  needs  not  to  break  with  ancient  traditions 
in  order  to  progress  with  the  time.  Held  while  the  report 
of  Lord  Aberdare's  committee  was  stiU  a  recent  topic,  it 
was  marked  by  the  especially  hopeful  tone  in  which  the 
national  sentiment  expressed  itself,  and  by  the  fresh  interest 
imparted  to  the  somewhat  time-worn  themes  that  form  the 
traditional  text  of  Eisteddfodic  addresses. 

The  ungrudging  exertions  of  the  committee,  and  the  share 
of  favour  shown  on  the  part  of  the  weather,  laid  the  founda- 
tions  of  the  success  which  was  achieved;  and  the  material 
of  the  competitions  was,  on  the  whole,  not  unworthy  of  the 
machinery.  Evidences  of  real  genius  and  of  painstaking 
study  were  not  wanting,  and  the  ominous  words,  "no  award", 
appear  less  often  in  the  record  of  the  literary  contests  than 
has  sometimes  been  the  case  of  late. 

The  arts  of  painting  and  sculpture  were,  as  usual,  ill-re- 
presented ;  though  one  genuine  work  of  art  became,  in  an 
undisputed  contest,  the  property  of  the  committee.  The  few 
prizes  offered  in  musical  composition  elicited  some  creditable 
minor  productions,  but  the  most  valuable  of  aìl,  the  judges 
declined  to  confer.     On  thc  uther  hand,  thc  (|uulity  of  the 


234  THE   NATIONAL   EISTEDDFOD    OF    1881. 

prose-writing  showed  a  marked  improvement,  and  the  en- 
comiums  of  the  adjudicators  were  merited  by  not  a  few  of 
tlie  pieces  of  verse  submitted.  Six  choirs  of  undoubted 
merit  competed  for  the  great  clioral  prize,  a  respectable 
number  came  into  the  arena  for  those  of  lesser  note,  and  no 
falling  off  was  evinced  by  the  vocal  niusic  generally;  but 
Dr.  Parry  felt  constrained  to  remark  on  the  unfavourable 
comparison  which  the  instrumental  execution  of  the  Prin- 
cipality  bore  to  that  he  had  witnessed  in  the  North  of  Eng- 
hmd.  The  orchestral  competition  instituted  by  the  com- 
mittee  is  a  return  to  former  practice  that,  it  may  be-  hoped, 
will  be  generally  followed.  What  the  Eisteddfod  has  done 
in  the  past  for  vocal,  it  may  be  trusted  to  do  in  the  future 
for  instrumental  music. 

A  noticeable  feature  of  the  Eisteddfod  was  the  strictly 
appropriate  character  impressed  on  the  eveniug  concerts. 
In  place  of  the  well  known  pieces  usually  selected,  two  out  of 
the  four  evenings  were  devoted  to  the  performance  of  im- 
portant  new  works  by  Welsh  composers  :  the  "  Emmanuel"  of 
Dr.  Parry,  and  Mr.  David  Jenkins'  Cantata, "  David  and  Saul", 
written  expressly  for  the  occasion.  A  more  questionable 
exercise  of  patriotism  restricted  the  execution  of  the  concerts 
to  purely  Cymric  artistes ;  a  bold  measure,  the  best  defence 
of  which  must  be  found  in  its  success. 

To  our  readers  a  matter  of  no  less  interest  is  the  position 
occupied  at  Merthyr  by  the  meetings  of  the  Cymmrodorion 
Section.  These  meetings,  held  tentatively  at  Carnarvon  in 
1S80,  were  at  Merthyr  made  an  integral  part  of  the  proceedings 
of  the  Eisteddfod,  and  announced  as  such  in  its  programmes. 
The  evident  appreciation  on  the  part  of  visitors  of  the  pro- 
ceedings  in  the  Temperance  liall,  and  the  ready  response 
given  to  tlie  Archdeacon  of  Llandaff,  when,  in  the  pavilion, 
lie  called  for  a  popular  verdict  on  the  Cymmrodorion's  ex- 
periment,  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  Society  has  niet  a 


THE   NATIONAL   EISTEDDFOD   OF   1881.  235 

real  want  iu  iiistituting  tliis  Section,  and  talcen  a  measure 
frauglit  with  beneficial  results.  Thougli  education  and  social 
science  have  hitherto  formed  the  staple  of  the  Section's  pro- 
ceedings,  and  probably  will  always  prove  the  most  attractive 
topics,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  philology  and  archfeology  will 
not  fail  to  prefer  an  early  claiui  to  its  attention.  It  must 
not  be  forgotten,  how  large  a  share  of  the  success  of  this 
year's  "  Section"  was  due  to  Mr.  Wm.  Davies  (Mynorydd), 
and  Mr.  W.  Cadwaladr  Davies,  of  Bangor,  wlio  acted  as  its 
secretaries  and  managers. 

An  innovation  introduced  into  the  Gorsedd  ceremony  is 
worthy  of  note.  Tlie  repetition  of  the  Gorsedd  prayer  by 
the  whole  circle  of  bards,  instead  of,  as  heretofore,  by  the 
Arch-Druid  alone,  gave  additional  impressiveness  to  the  rite 
which  has  now  at  least  the  prescription  of  a  hundred  years' 
continuous  nsage,  whatever  may  be  its  remote  origin.  The 
scene  of  the  Gorsedd  was  the  Market-place  of  Merthyr,  and 
Clwydfardd  presided. 

In  spite  of  the  singular  fatality  which  deprived  the  Eis- 
teddfod  of  three  out  of  its  four  expected  presidents,  the  com- 
mittee  were  fortunate  in  the  presence  of  geutlemen  so  well 
qualified  to  fiU  the  vacaut  chair  as  Mr.  Lewis  Monis,  the 
Ilector  of  Merthyr,  and  the  Ven.  Archdeacon  Griffiths.  Mr. 
Lewis  Morris,  who  occupied  it  on  the  first  day,  in  the  stead 
of  Sir  Hugh  Owen,  paid  an  appropriate  tribute  to  the  self- 
denying  labours  of  the  venerable  patriot  whom  his  country- 
men  had  hoped  that  morning  to  honour  in  person.  It  was 
to  be  expected  that  educational  prospects  should  occupy  a 
large  share  of  ]\Ir.  Morris'  address ;  and  nothing  could  well 
have  been  more  to  the  purpose  than  the  lucid  sketch  which 
he  presenfced  of  the  educational  status  of  the  country,  as  re- 
vealed  by  the  investigation  which  he  had  recently  been 
associated  in  carrying  out.  ]\Ir.  Lewis  Morris'  example  Avas 
not  foUowed  by  his  late  colleaguc  on  the  Committee,  Mr. 


236  THE   NATIONAL   EISTEDDFOD    OF    1881. 

Henry  Eichard,  the  president  of  the  third  session,  whose  ex- 
cellent  address,  delivered  in  "  yr  hen  iaith",  ranged  over  a 
much  greater  variety  of  topics.  Conld  anything  reconcile  a 
Welsh  audience  to  the  absence  of  Sir  Watkin  Wynn,  the 
speech  of  the  Eector  of  Merthyr,  who  presided  in  his  room 
on  the  second  day  of  the  Eisteddfod,  would  have  gone  far  to 
do  so.  The  theme  of  his  address  was  the  Eisteddfod  itself, 
which  he  handled  with  his  usual  vigour  and  practical  sense. 
The  Eector  would  look  at  the  institution  in  the  lioht,  neither 
of  the  historical  past,  nor  of  the  ideal  future,  but  in  that  of  the 
actual  present.  It  is  not^  in  his  view,  a  thing  to  be  explained 
or  justified  by  its  traditions  or  possibilities,  which  are  dwelt 
upon,  perhaps,  unduly  in  presidential  addresses,  but  by  the 
tastes  and  habits  of  the  working  men  of  modern  Wales,  from 
wdiich  it  has  in  reality  grown,  and  upon  whicli  it  in  reality 
rests. 

The  Ven.  Archdeacon  Griffiths,  who  had  already  contributed 
a  long  and  able  address  in  his  caj^acity  as  chairman  of 
the  Cymmrodorion  Section,  perhaps  considered  it  a  matter 
of  congratulation  that  the  length  of  the  programme  pre- 
cluded  a  formal  presidential  speech  on  the  last  day  of  the 
Eisteddfod,  when  the  absence  of  Sir  Edward  Eeed  called  him 
to  the  chair.  A  few  well-chosen  words,  mainly  in  reference 
to  the  newly  introduced  department  over  which  he  had  lately 
presided,  alone  prefaced  the  business  of  the  meeting.  The 
expression  of  popular  approbation  which  his  remarks  op 
the  Cymmrcdorion  Section  called  fortli,  has  been  already 
alluded  to. 

Of  incidental  speeches,  other  than  those  delivered  in  the 
course  of  adjudications,  but  few  were  inserted  in  the  pro- 
grannne.  The  most  noticeable  was  that  of  Mr.  C.  W.  Jones, 
the  well  knoMm  Secretary  of  the  Society  of  Cymmrodorion, 
upon  the  permanence  of  the  Welsh  language,  an  historical 
phenomenon   that   well   deserves   the   attention  which    the 


THE   NATIONAL    EISTEDDFOD    OF    1881.  237 

speaker  demanded  for  it.     Ilwfa  Môn  delivered  the  address 
upon  the  occasion  of  the  chairing  of  the  Bard. 

The  following  prizes  were  awarded  diiring  the  four  days  of 
the  Eisteddfod : — 


In  tiie  Department  of  Poetey. 

Five  guineas  and  a  gold  medal  for  a  Wclsli  operatic 
lihretto,  divided  between  the  Rev.  D.  0.  Harris  (Caeron\vy), 
and  jNIr.  T.  D.  Thomas  (Tydíìlfab).  Two  guineas  (given  by  the 
Heralcl  Cymraeg),  for  a  descriptive  song,  "The  Newspaper", 
to  Dyfedfab  (Mr.  Evan  Eees).  Ten  guineas  and  a  gold  medal 
for  an  epic  poem,  "  The  Duke  of  Wellington",  to  Mr.  Morgan 
Rees  WiUiams,  of  Cefncoedycymer.  Two  guineas  for  a  trans- 
lation  into  Welsh  of  the  "  Prisoner  of  ChiUon",  to  loan  Ddu 
(Mr.  J.  S.  Joues,  of  CoedUai,Mold).  Two  guineas  and  a  silver 
medal  for  an  eclogue,  to  the  R&v.  D.  C.  Harris  (Caeronwy). 
Two  guineas  and  a  silver  medal  for  a  song,  "  Tydfil  the 
Martyr",  to  Miss  Parry,  of  Llaududno.  The  Chair  Pkize, 
twenty  guineas  and  an  oak  chair,  for  an  "  Ode  on  Love",  to 
Dyfedfab  (Mr.  Evan  Eees,  of  Cardiff,  late  of  Aberdare).  Five 
guineas  and  a  silver  medal  for  a  cyioydd  "  Iron",  divided  be- 
twcen  j\Ir.  John  Jones,  of  Bangor,  and  Mr.  R,  Parry,  of  Bangor. 
Six  guineas  (given  by  Madame  Wynne),  for  a  Welsh  ode, 
"The  Chairing  of  the  Bard",  to  Mr.  John  Jones  (Ogwenydd), 
of  Bangor.  Five  guineas  and  a  silver  medal  for  an  aiodl 
hryddcst,  "loan  Emlyn",  to  the  Piev.  J.  C.  Williams,  of 
]\Iertliyr.  Two  guineas  for  satirical  verses,  "  The  Persecutors 
of  Eisteddfodau",  to  Dyfedfab.  A  gold  medal  and  £3  lOs. 
for  a  poem,  "  lolo  Morganwg",  to  the  Piev.  D.  C.  Harris 
(Caeronwy)  ;  and  £7  to  Mr.  Onllwyn  Brace,  of  Ystalyfera. 
Twenty  guineas  and  a  gold  medal  for  a  poem  on  "  Life",  to 
"  Watcyn  Wyn",  of  Brynaman. 

In  two  cases  the  judges  refused  award. 


238  the  national  eisteddfod  of  1881, 

In  the  Depaetment  of  Prose  Composition. 

Ten  giiineas  for  an  essay  on  "Tlie  Histoiy  of  Eeligion 
in  Wales,  from  a.d.  500  to  1280",  to  Gweirydd  ap  Eliys  (E. 
J.  Pryse  of  Holyhead).  Three  guineas  for  an  essay  on  "  The 
Life,  Character,  and  Achievements  of  Sir  WiUiam  Jones" 
(given  by  Mr.  Aviet  Agabeg)  to  Mr.  William  Evans,  bar- 
rister-at-law,  of  Merthyr.  Sixteen  guineas  (given  by  Mr.  D. 
AVilliams),  for  an  essay  on  "'  The  Advantages  of  lucorpo- 
rating  Merthyr  Tydfil",  to  Mr.  D.  J.  Eowlands  of  Merthyr. 
Ten  guineas  for  a  Welsli  essay  on  "  Tlie  Cause,  or  Causes,  of 
Periodical  Panics,  etc",  divided  between  ap  Tydfil  (Eev.  J. 
E.  Thomas  of  Narberth) ;  and  Peel  (Eev.  Owen  Jones  of 
Newtown).  Three  guineas  (given  by  Mr.  Walter  Lloyd  of 
Aberdare),  for  a  Welsh  novel,  to  Mr.  Isaac  Evans  (Craigfryn) 
of  Quaker's  Yard.  Twenty  guineas  and  a  gold  medal,  for  a 
"  History  of  the  Literature  of  Monmouthshire  and  Glamor- 
gan",  to  Mr.  Charles  Wilhins,  of  Merth}T.  rive  guineas  for 
a  Welsh  essay  on  "  The  Etymology  of  Place-names",  to  Mr, 
EdAvard  Hughes  of  Swansea.  Ten  guineas  (given  by  Mr, 
Frank  James,  and  Mr.  W.  Harries,  of  Merthyr)  for  an  essay 
on  "  The  Adaptability  of  Merthyr  to  other  Trades  than  those 
already  carried  on  there",  divided  between  Mr.  John  Howells 
of  St,  Athan  (who  wrote  in  English),  and  the  Eev.  William 
Thomas  of  Gwylfa,  whose  essay  was  in  Welsh, 

Three  important  prizes  the  judges  refused  to  award, 

In  the  Department  of  Musical  Composition, 

Three  guineas  (given  by  Mr.  Lucas  Williams)  and  a  silver 
medal,  for  a  song  to  English  and  Welsh  words,  to  Mr,  R.  S. 
Hughes  of  London,  Five  guineas  for  a  string  quartette,  to 
Mr.  W.  C.  Lewis  of  Workington.  Ten  guineas  (given  by 
]\lr.  B.  Evans  of  Swansea)  for  three  four-part  songs,  to 
the    well   known    composer,  Gwilym   Gwent,  who   is    still 


TIIE  NATIONAL   EISTEDDFOD   OF   1881.  239 

resident  in  America.  rive  guineas  (given  by  ]\Iiss  jNIary 
Davies)  and  a  silver  medal  (by  Mr.  Eees  Jones  of  Landore) 
for  a  soprano  song,  to  Mr.  E.  S.  Hughes  of  London. 

The  prize  for  a  cantata  with  pianoforte  accompaniment, 
offered  by  the  London  Welsh  choir,  was  not  awarded. 

In  tiie  Depaetment  of  Musical  Enecution. 

Two  guineas  for  singing  a  contralto  solo,  divided  between 
Daniel  Prothero  of  Ystradgynlais,  and  Miss  Annie  Jones  of 
Carmarthen.  Three  guineas  (given  by  Madame  Wynne)  for 
a  soprano  and  tenor  duet,  to  Miss  M.  Lewis  of  Pontlottyn,  and 
Mr.  D.  Howells  of  Aberdare.  Three  guineas  and  a  silver 
medal  for  pianoforte  playing,  to  Mr.  F.  J.  Lyons  of  New- 
port.  Six  guineas  for  quartette  singing  (given  by  Signor 
Foli)  to  Mr.  Wigley  and  party,  of  Tredegar.  Seven  guineas 
for  orchestral  performance,  to  the  Merthyr  band,  led  by  Mr. 
Scott.  Two  guineas  for  penillion  singing,  to  Mr.  Wm.  Jones 
Davies,  of  Bethesda,  Carnarvonshire.  A  violin,  value  five 
guineas,  for  violin  playing,  to  Mr.  Wm.  Evans  of  Swansea. 
Twenty-five  pounds  and  a  gold  medal  for  a  rendering  of  part 
of "  Habakkuk's  Prayer"  (J.  A.  Lloyd),  to  the  Tabernacle 
Choir  of  Morriston,  led  by  Mr.  David  Evans.  Two  guineas 
and  one  guinea  (given  by  Messrs.  Wright  and  Eound  of 
Liverpool)  for  cornet  playing,  to  Mr.  W.  Berry  of  Merthyr, 
and  Mr.  John  Erancis  of  Swansea.  Two  guineas  for  a  bari- 
tone  song,  divided  between  Gwilym  Thomas  of  Caerphilly, 
and  Mr.  Dan.  Price  of  Dowlais.  Three  guineas  for  pedal- 
harp  playing  to  Mr.  Wm.  Morgan  of  Bargoed ;  two  guineas 
(given  by  Mrs.  Crawshay)  to  Mr.  John  Evans  of  Troedyrhiw, 
ono  guinea  (by  Mr.  Lewis  Morris)  to  Charles  Pearce,  aged 
six,  of  Treherbert.  Two  guineas  for  a  soprano  solo  (given 
by  Mrs.  Cozens  of  Ynys  y  plwm),  to  Miss  Mary  Morgan  of 
Llantrissant.  Eive  guineas,  and  twenty-five  volumes  of 
"The  Standard  Coursc"  (givcn  by  Messrs.  Curwcn  of  London), 


240  THE   NATIONAL   EISTEDDFOD    OF    1881. 

for  part  singing,  divided  between  the  Taibacli  and  Aberanian 
Glee-party,  led  by  Mr.  Leysbon  Davies,  and  tbe  Maesteg 
Minstrels,  led  by  Mr.  Evan  Jenkins.  Ten  giiineas  and  a 
silver  medal  to  tbe  Tredegar  cboir  (Mr.  Davis  Jones,  leader), 
for  congregational  choir  singing.  Two  gnineas  for  a  soprano 
solo,  by  young  ladies  under  S6venteen,  divided  between  Miss 
Maggie  Beynon,  and  Miss  Amy  Eyan.  Two  guineas  (given 
by  Mr.  E.  Biddle),  for  harmonium  playing,  to  Miss  Mary 
Jessie  Lloyd.  Two  guineas  for  a  tenor  solo,  divided  be- 
tween  Mr.  David  Davies  of  Treberbert,  Mr.  Tom  Eelix  of 
Treorky,  and  Mr.  David  Howells  of  Aberaman.  Five  gaiineas 
and  a  silver  medal,  for  drum  and  fife  playing,  divided  be- 
tween  the  Penydarren  and  Llantrissant  bands.  Five  guineas 
for  trio  singing,  to  a  party  from  the  Ehondda  Yalley.  Tbree 
guineas  for  pedal  harp  playing,  by  lads  under  eighteen  (given 
by  Mr.  T.  T.  James  of  Mountain  Ash)  to  Walter  Thomas 
Barker  of  Caerphilly,  a  pupil  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  of  Music. 
Five  guineas  and  twenty-five  vols.  of  the  "  Standard  Course" 
for  singing,  by  male  voices  only,  to  the  Morriston  Glee-party, 
led  by  JMr.  D.  Francis.  Two  guineas  for  penillion  singing, 
to  Mr.  Daniel  Lloyd,  of  the  Ehondda  Yalley.  Twenty 
guineas  and  a  gold  medal,  to  the  Cyfarthfa  brass  band,  led 
by  Mr.  G.  Livesey.  A  trombone,  of  the  value  of  eighteen 
guineas,  to  the  Corris  brass  band,  led  by  Mr.  Tidsbury.  Five 
guineas  for  pedal  harp  playing,  divided  betw^een  Miss  Annie 
Jones  of  Carmarthen,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Barher  of  Caer<- 
philly.  Two  guineas  for  piccolo  playing  by  lads  under  six- 
teen,  to  Fred.  Grifiiths  of  Swansea.  Two  guineas  for  a  bass 
solo,  to  Gwilym  Thomas  of  Tynewydd.  Two  guiueas  for 
soprano  singing,  to  Miss  Nellie  Jones.  The  great  prize  of 
£100  and  a  gold  medal,  for  rendering  "  Ye  Natious"  (Men- 
delssohn),  and  "Hallelujah,  Amen"  (Emlyn  Evans),  to  the 
Ehondda  Philharmonic  Society,  250  in  number,  led  by  Mr. 
D.  Prosser  (Eos  Cynlais).     Four  guineas,  for  a  duet,  to  Mr. 


THE   NATIONAL   EISTEDDFOD   OF    1881.  241 

W.  Thonias  of  Xeath  and  Mr.  Davi(l  Phillips  of  Aherdare. 
Two  YÌolins,  YÌola,  and  violoncello,  for  a  quartette  of  stringed 
instruments,  to  a  party  from  ]\íerthyr. 

The  conductor's  bâton  was  wielded  on  tlie  four  successive 
days  by  Dafydd  Morganwg,  the  Rev.  W.  Glanfîrwd  Thomas, 
the  Eev.  A.  J.  Parry,  and  the  Eev.  D.  F.  Evans  (Ednyfed). 


Five  guineas  w^ere  awarded  for  an  original  bust,  to  Mr. 
Alberti  of  Manchester.  Five  guineas  (given  by  Mr.  W. 
Merchant  of  Pontypridd)  for  an  original  painting,  to  Mr.  J. 
C.  Fairburn  of  Aberdare. 

In  wood-carving,  for  which  a  prize  of  two  guineas  was 
offered  by  Mr.  Wm.  Jones  of  Cyfarthfa,  there  was  no  com- 
petition. 

The  Cymmrodoeion  Section. 

The  Cymmrodorion  Section  held  its  meetings  in  the  Tem- 
perance  Hall  on  August  29th  and  31st,  and  September  2nd, 
under  the  Presidency  of  the  Ven.  the  Archdeacon  of  Llandaff. 
The  proceedings  were  opened  on  August  29th  by  an  address 
from  the  Presideut,  dealing  with  the  history,  the  work,  and 
the  position  of  the  Cymmrodorion  Society. 

At  the  second  meeting,  on  August  31  st,  Mr.  Gwilym  James, 
High  Constable  of  Merthyr,  in  the  chair,  a  paper  on  "  The 
Home  Life  of  the  Collier"  was  read  by  the  Rev.  T.  D.  Jones 
of  Tonyrefail.  A  second  paper,  on  "  The  Peport  of  the  De- 
partmental  Committee",  by  Mr.  T.  Marchant  Williams,  B.A. 

At  the  concluding  meeting,  on  September  2nd,  the  Eev. 
W.  B.  Joseph  (Y  Myfyr)  of  Colwyn  Bay,  in  the  chair,  a 
paper  on  "  Wasted  Energy  and  jNIaterial  in  Wales",  was  read 
by  Dr.  Humpidge,  of  the  University  CoUege  of  Wales.  A 
second  paper,  on  "  Education  in  Merthyr",  by  Mr.  T.  C. 
Fawcett,  ]\Í.A.,  of  the  Merthyr  Proprietary  School,  was  read 
iu  his  absence  liy  the  Secretary  of  the  Section. 


242 


îaebíeinö  of  Mohô. 


Who  are  the  Welsh  ?    By  James  Bonwice,  F.E.G-.S.,  etc, 
etc.    London:  David  Bogue.    1881.    Price  One  Shilling. 

The  plan  of  tliis  little  boük  is  an  exceUent  one.  A  work, 
gÌYÌng  within  a  small  compass  the  principal  facts  which 
archíBology  and  history  furnish  as  data  for  the  ethnologist  in 
determiniug  the  composition  of  the  Welsh  people,  together 
with  the  inferences  which  competent  scholars  have  dra\^n 
from  those  facts,  is  a  desideratum.  In  preparing  himself  to 
answer  his  own  question,  the  author  has  not  been  sparing  of 
labour ;  he  has  read  very  extensively,  and  gleaned  in  all  sorts 
of  fields,  from  the  ponderous  folios  of  the  past  oénturies  to 
the  magazine  and  newspaper  articles  of  to-day. 

But  Mr.  Bonwick  has  unfortunately  used  his  authorities  far 
too  indiscriminately.  His  net,  like  that  in  the  parable,  has 
"  gathered  of  every  kind",  but  he  seems  to  have  utterly  for- 
gotten  to  "  cast  the  bad  away".  A  book  of  this  kind,  if  of 
any  use  at  all,  is  for  popular  use,  and  should  serve  as  a  guide ; 
and  to  quote  in  it  all  the  outrageous  notions  which  foolish 
people  have,  with  the  courage  of  ignorance,  thought  fit  to  pro- 
pound  from  time  to  time,  is  worse  than  useless.  This  the 
author  has  done  much  too  freely,  the  result  being  a  most 
incongruous  combination  of  "  authorities",  Myfyr  Morganwg 
and  Professor  Ehys,  Zeuss  and  Margoliouth,  Ptichard  of 
Cirencester  and  Dr.  Preeman,  etc,  etc  In  this  way  we  find 
on  one  page  (113)  Eobert  Yaughan,  Twm  Sion  Catti,  Morien, 
Nash,  Stephens,  Sharon  Turner,  Herbert,  lolo  Morganwg,  G. 
D.  Barber,  Äb  Itliel,  and  Myfyr  Morganwg,  coUected  in  one 
happy  family !     This  utter  absence  of  selection  makes  the 


REYIEWS    OF   BOOKS.  243 

book  rather  disappointing,  not  to  say  exasperatiug  reading, 
and  detracts  very  largely  from  any  value  it  miglit  otherwise 
have. 

Among  points  of  detail  it  is  to  be  observed  that  Welsh  words 
and  proper  names  are  not  unfrequently  sadly  tortured.  What 
does  the  author  mean  by  saying  that  "  The  Welsh  of  a  few 
hundred  years  old  is  so  very  different  from  that  now 
spoken'  (p.  8),  and  again  that  "  Even  MSS.  of  tlie  twelfth 
century  can  hardly  be  deciphered  now  by  Gaelic  scholars" 
(p.  58)  ? 

Again,  "  It  is  admitted  that  the  Welsh  of  the  day  is  far 
more  unlike  old  Welsh  than  modern  English  is  unlike  tlie 
old  English"  (p.  78).  By  whom  is  this  remarkable  admission 
made  ? 

On  p.  26  "Llyn  Savathan  of  Brecon"  and  "  Lake  Llangorse 
of  Brecon"  are  spoken  of  in  different  paragraphs,  much  as  if 
the  writer  thought  them  two  distinct  lakes. 

Such  expressions  as  "  Cymry-speaking"  and  "  C}Txiry- 
tongue"  do  not  commend  themselve3  to  eye  or  ear. 

If  the  author  had  exercised  more  discrimination  in  the 
choice  of  authorities,  and  taken  more  pains  to  separate  the 
wheat  from  the  chaff,  his  wide  reading  should  have  enabled 
him  to  produce  something  more  satisfactory  than  this  tanta- 
lising  little  volume. 

But  in  parting,  none  of  our  readers  will  feel  disposed  to 
quarrel  with  him  on  the  conclusion  of  his  preface,  where  he 
says  that — "  For  those  elements  of  character  constituting  a 
prudeut,  orderly,  virtuous,  and  happy  nation,  the  Welsh  may 
boldly  challenge  the  whole  world  in  competition". 


VOL.  IV. 


244  REYIEWS    OF   BOOKS. 

St,  PaUL  IN  BrITAIN  ;   OR,  THE  ORIGIN   OF  BrITISH  AS  OPPOSED 

TO  Papal  Christianity.     By  tlie  Rev.  E.  W.  Morgan. 
Oxford  and  London  :  James  Parker  and  Co.     1880. 

After  an  interval  of  twenty  years,  a  second  edition  of  tliis 
work  ig  issued.  The  fact  may  not  be  regarded  as  altogether 
encouraging  to  tliose  who  wish  to  promote  the  scientific  study 
of  history  among  us ;  but  it  points  to  a  clear  conviction  in 
the  minds  of  the  publishers  that  the  faith  of  "  true  believers" 
in  the  Historical  Triads  and  "  Barddas"  has  not  grown  feeble 
nnder  the  assaults  of  heretics  like  the  late  Mr.  Stephens. 
Properly  to  enjoy  this  book  the  reader  must  be  gifted  with 
an  ardent  patriotism  and  an  abounding  faith.  Por  ourselves 
we  claim  the  patriotism,  but  alas  !  are  forced  to  feel  that  the 
necessary  faith  is  not  ours.  But  anyone  possessed  of  these 
qualifications  will  feel  infinite  satisfaction  in  following  the 
author  as  he  sketches  in  glowing  colours  the  past  greatne  s 
and  glory  of  the  Cymry.  He  wiU  learn,  for  example,  that 
Druidism  was  founded  in  Asia  by  Gwyddon  Ganhebon  on 
the  Ist  of  May  (the  author  lias  unfortunately  neglected  to 
state  the  hour,  but  we  may  reasonably  assume  it  was  at  sun- 
rise)  B.G.  3903,  181  years  after  the  creation  of  man,  and  50 
years  after  the  birth  of  Seth ;  that  its  symbol,  the  milkwhite 
astral  bull,  superseding,  as  usual  in  the  East,  the  thing  signi- 
fìed,  Druidism  thus  corrupted  became  the  religion  of  Mithras 
in  Persia,  of  Baal  in  Assyria,  of  Brahma  in  India,  of  Astarte 
in  Syria,  etc. ;  and  in  iUustration  of  aU  this  he  will  find  the 
"  symbol"  in  Crete  was  designated  in  good  Welsh  "  the  Menw- 
tarw",  which  the  Greeks  barbarously  changed  into  "  the 
Mino-taur"!  He  wiU,  however,  learn  to  his  comfort  that 
Druidism  was  carried  into  Britain  in  all  its  purity  by  Hu 
Gadarn,  who  also  founded  Stonehenge,  b.g.  c.  1800 ;  that  as 
taught  here  it  recognised  an  Infinite  Being  whose  essence  is 
"  pure,  mental  light",  and  who  is  therefore  called  Duw,  i.e., 


REYIEWS    OF    BOOKS.  245 

Du-w,  "  the  one  without  any  darkness" ;  and  that  in  its  cor- 
rupted  form  of  Buddhism  it  is  "  still  the  religion  of  nearly 
one-half  of  mankind".  It  would  be  unfair  to  reveal  any  fur- 
ther  the  mysteries  the  reader  will  find  in  this  wonderful 
Yolume,  so  we  will  only  add  that  when  he  has  learnt  these 
marvellous  things  and  many  more,  he  "will  be  no  further  from 
tlie  truth,  nay  we  will  venture  to  say,  will  be  on  tlie  whole 
somewhat  nearer  to  it  than  are  those  who  believe  that  our 
ancestors  were  no  better  than  the  savages  of  the  South  Sea 
Islands. 


Glossae  Hibeenicae  e  codicibus  Wirziburgexsi  Carolis- 

EUHENSIBUS  ALIIS  ADJUYANTE  ACADEMIAE  EeGIAE  BeROL- 

iNENSis  liberalitate  edidit  Heinricus  Zimmer.  Bero- 
LiNi  APUD  Weidmannos,  mdccclxxxi.  London :  Williams 
and  Norgate.     (Price  Eight  jMarks.) 

In  a  previous  number  we  noticed  some  very  able  papers  by 
Herr  Zimmer,  which  had  appeared  in  the  Ecitsclirift  für 
Yergleiclunde  Spi'achforschung ;  and  now  we  have  the  plea- 
sure  of  calling  our  readers'  attention  to  a  more  important 
work  by  the  same  profound  scholar.  This  is  a  complete  edi- 
tion  of  the  Irish  Glosses  hitherto  discovered  in  continental 
libraries,  with  the  exception  of  the  important  ones  at  St. 
Gall  (the  Priscian  Codex)  and  j\Iilan,  which  had  been  taken 
in  hand  by  another  scholar,  Ascoli.  In  tliis  volurae,  there- 
fore,  we  have  the  glosses  already  given  to  the  world,  fuUy  or 
in  part,  by  various  leading  Celtists,  and  also  some  hitherto 
unpublished  ones ;  while  in  those  previously  edited,  numer- 
ous  corrections  have  been  effected.  Prefixed  to  the  body  of 
the  work  are  fifty  pages  of  interesting  "  Prolegomena"  in 
which  the  editor  gives  an  account  (1)  of  the  various  codices 
containing  the  glosses,  and  (2)  of  the  abbreviations  used  by 
the  Irish  scribes.     The  production  of  the  volume,  even  with 


246  EEYIEWS    OE   BOOES. 

all  the  assistance  to  be  derived  from  the  labours  of  his  pre- 
decessors,  must  have  cost  the  editor  much  painful  toil.  Of 
this  any  one  may  convince  himself  by  going  carefully  through 
the  appended  fac-simile  of  a  page  of  the  Wirzburgh  Codex. 
Careful  inspection  of  this  will  also  show  that,  as  Herr  Zimmer 
has  found  occasional  errors  in  the  work  of  those  who  have 
gone  before  him,  so  his  own  work,  with  all  the  care  and  learn- 
ing  brought  to  bear  upon  it,  is  not  absolutely  perfect.  The 
slight  deviations  from  the  orthography  of  the  scribe,  which  are 
observed  on  comparison  of  the  photograph  with  the  printed 
text  (the  only  mode  of  testing  the  work  open  to  most  readers), 
are,  doubtless,  intentional,  but  Noli  for  Nolo  in  the  fìrst  line  is 
one  of  those  maculae  guas  hiimana  parum  cavit  natura.  We 
would  suggest  that  the  name  euchil  merdach,  on  \).  213,  pro- 
bably  means,  not  "  Ahihail  fratris  Mardochae",  but  Evil-Mero- 
clach,  tlie  son  and  successor  of  ]Srebuchadnezzar,  whose  name 
the  writer,  by  a  natural  slip,  substituted  for  that  of  Belshazzar, 
to  whom  Daniel's  words  were  addressed,  and  whom  he  calls,  in 
accordance  with  the  loose  Hebrew  usage,  the  son  of  the  same 
ISrebuchadnezzar.  Valuable  as  this  volume  is,  the  editor,  in 
the  preface,  promises  us  something  very  much  more  valuable, 
viz.,  a  "  Thesaurus  linguae  Hibernicae  veteris  atque  mediae 
aetatis",  which  we  are  told  he  intends  to  publish  "  cjuam  bre- 
vissimo  tempore".  The  fulfilment  of  this  promise  we  shall 
await  with  something  of  the  same  eagerness  with  which  we 
have  been  looking  for  the  appearance  of  a  long-promisçd 
Welsh  Dictionary.  It  is  some  satisfaction  to  think  (however 
discreditable  the  thought  may  be  to  the  Principality)  that 
Herr  Zimmer  will  not  in  Germany  experience  the  same  difíi- 
culty  in  finding  a  publisher  as  Mr.  Silvan  Evans  has  met 
with  here. 


EEYIEWS   OF   BOOKS.  247 

TlIE  HlSTORY  OF  THE  PPJNCES,  TIIE  LOEDS  MaRCHER,  AND  TIIE 

Ancient  Nobility  of  Powys  Fadog,  and  the  Ancient 
LoRDS  OF  Arwystli,  Cedewen,  and  Meirionydd.  By 
J.  Y.  W.  Lloyd  of  Clochfaen,  Esq.,  M.A.,  K.S.G.  Vol.  L 
London:  T.  Eichards.     1881.     (xvi-416  pp.  8vo.) 

In  his  Preface  the  author  modestly  states  that  "  this  work  is 
merely  a  compilation  and  lays  claim  to  no  originality",  but  it 
is  not  necessarily  less  valuable  on  that  account,  or  to  be  less 
heartily  welcomed.  We  have  far  too  few  men  wlio  are  con- 
tent,  like  the  writer  of  this  very  handsome  volume,  to  work 
patiently  among  "  ancient  records,  charters,  and  MSS.";  and 
we  should  be  glad  to  see  the  Eisteddfod  do  very  much  more 
to  encourage  sucli  research,  even  if  we  had  in  consequence 
to  do  with  somewhat  less  of  the  so-called  "  original"  work 
which  that  institution  now  periodically  calls  forth. 

Tlie  author  opens  his  narrative  with  the  election  of  Vorti- 
gern,  King  of  Britain,  in  446,  and  carries  it  in  the  present 
volume  down  to  the  thirtieth  year  of  King  Henry  the 
Eighth,  1539.  With  rauch  care  and  patience  he  traces  the 
varying  fortunes  of  the  province  during  the  long  interval, 
bringing  together  from  a  great  variety  of  sources  an  immense 
mass  of  information  relative  to  the  personal  and  family  his- 
tory  of  kings,  princes,  and  lords  innumerable.  We  would 
specially  notice,  as  one  excellent  feature  in  the  work,  the  fre- 
quent  use  made  of  the  ^yritings  of  the  medÌ8eval  bards.  For 
example,  after  a  brief  account  of  Tyssilio,  we  find  "  Can 
Tyssilyaw"  by  Cynddelw ;  in  this  case  a  translation  by 
H.  W.  Lloyd,  Esq.,  is  also  given.  In  the  same  way  a  number 
of  other  historical  poems  by  Cynddelw,  Gwalchmai,  Prydydd 
y  Moch,  etc,  are  incorporated  in  the  work  in  their  proper 
places,  in  connection  with  the  princes  whom  tliey  celebrate. 
Most  of  these  compositions  are  unaccompanied  by  any  trans- 
lation,  for  whicli  the  author  in  his  preface  to  the  volume 


248  REYÍEWS    OF    BO0KS. 

offers  an  apology.  A  more  serious  defect  in  the  opinion  of 
many  will  be  that  the  Welsh  text  is  not  quite  free  from 
errors.  In  general,  the  reader  will,  no  doubt,  be  able  to  cor- 
rect  these  slips  for  himself,  but  there  wiU  probably  be  cases 
in  which  he  will  find  it  difficult  to  decide  whether  a  given 
peculiarity  of  diction  or  orthography  is  due  to  the  original 
scribe  or  to  the  printer. 

A  number  of  well-chosen  iUustrations,  sketches  from 
nature,  and  fac-similes  from  the  Harleian  MSS.,  form  a  very 
interesting  addition  to  the  value  of  this  fine  volume. 


D£SCKIPTIVE    ACCOUNT    OF   THE   InCISED    SlATE   TaBLET   AND 

OTHER  Eemains  lately  discovered  at  Towyn.  With 
plates.  By  J.  Park  Harrison,  M.A.  Oxon.,  etc.  Lon- 
don:  B.  Quaritch.     1881. 

The  slate  tablet  here  described  was  discovered  in  the  autumn 
of  1879  amidst  the  ruins  of  an  old  buildiug,  near  the  sea,  at 
Towyn  in  Merionethshú-e.  It  is  a  smaU  piece  of  irregularly 
brohen  slate  about  9^  in.  by  6f  in.  in  its  greatest  length  and 
breadth.  On  one  side  it  is  marked  with  some  twenty-eight 
outline  figures,  which  are  now  supposed  to  represent  primi- 
tive  articles  of  dress  and  household  utensils.  Some  time 
after  it  was  discovered,  the  fragment  was  sent  for  inspection 
to  Professor  Phŷs,  who,  findiug  no  written  characters  upon 
it,  recommended  that  it  should  be  forwarded  to  Mr.  Park 
Harrison.  That  accomplished  archseologist  submitted  the 
figures  to  a  careful  and  detailed  examination,  the  results  of 
which  are  given  at  length  iu  the  present  "  account".  He 
inclines  to  adopt  the  view  "  that  the  tablet  may  coutain  a 
funereal  list  of  objects  required  by  a  deceased  chief",  and 
suggests  that  it  may  be  "  perhaps  the  latest  instance  that 
has  been  met  with  of  the  Celtic  funeral  custom  of  burying 
objects   for   use   in   another   state.     The   change  had   been 


REYIEWS   OF   BOOKS.  249 

gradual  from  tlie  sacrifìce  of  the  raost  valiied  ornaments  or 
weapons,  to  tliat  of  inferior  and  even  miniature  articles,  and 
tlie  practice  may  liere  and  there  have  died  out  in  outline 
representations  of  the  objects  required".  For  determining 
the  date  of  the  tablet,  Mr.  Harrison  finds  no  decisive  evi- 
dence. 

On  a  subject  of  this  kind  only  the  opinions  of  experts  can 
have  any  value.  But  to  the  uninitiated  Mr.  Harrison's  pages 
will  be  interesting  as  illustrating  the  method  on  which  a 
skilled  archaeologist  proceeds  in  endeavouring  to  work  out 
the  solution  of  his  problems. 


Caer  Pensauelcoit,  a  long  lost  Unromanised  British 
Metropolis  :  A  Eeasseiítion.  "With  a  Sketch  Map. 
London  :  Eeeves  and  Turner.     1882. 

In  1877,  the  author  of  this  interesting  Beassertion,  Thomas 
Kerslake,  Esq.,  of  Bristol,  printed  a  small  pamphlet  entitled, 
A  FrimíBval  British  Metropolis,  in  which  he  maintained  with 
much  ingenuity  and  cogency  of  argument,  that  the  little  vil- 
lage  of  Penselwood  in  East  Somerset  represents  the  "  Caer 
Pensauelcoit"  of  Nennius,  and  the  "  Kaerpeu-Huelgoit"  of 
Brut  Tyssilio  {Mijv.  Ärch.,  ii,  193  ;  pp.  451, 452  of  Gee's  edn.), 
the  British  stronghold  besieged  by  Yespasian.  Mr,  Kerslake 
argued  very  convincingly  that  Fenhuelgoit  is  merely  a  later 
form  of  Fensauelcoit,  and  that  "  PenselîüoofZ "  is  again  simply 
"  Pensauelcot^ "  with  the  last  element  translated.  He  further 
maintained  that  the  famous  Pen  Pits,  which  had  puzzled 
generations  of  antiquaries,  are — or  were,  as  they  have  now 
mostly  been  "  improved"  away — the  sites  of  the  old  dwell- 
ings  which  constituted  the  "  primae^al  British  metropolis", 
Pensauelcoit.  After  reading  Mr.  Kerslake's  pamphlet,  we 
felt  that  few  archa^ological  questions  had  been  so  fairly 
cleared  up.     Not  so,  however,  thought  some  members  of  the 


250  THE    FOLK-LOIíE   OF   WALES. 

Somersetsliire  Archseological  Society,  a  learned  body,  whicli 
appointed  an  Exploration  Committee  to  inquire  into  the 
matter  and  presumably  settle  it  for  ever.  The  investigations 
of  this  Committee  appear  to  have  been  carried  on  in  a  some- 
what  desultory  manner,  and  the  results  were  not  very  con- 
clusive.  But  the  majority  seem  to  have  been  unable  to 
accept  Mr.  Kerslake's  view,  hence  the  present  pamphlet,  in 
which  the  author  handles  rather  severely  one  of  his  oppo- 
nents.  Mr,  Kerslake  writes  with  vigour,  aud  enlivens  his 
argument  with  a  good  deal  of  dry  humour.  His  paper  is  at 
once  sound  archseology  and  amusing  reading. 


Cî)e  5olli=iLare  of  mnlt^. 

Many  of  our  readers  will  be  aware  that  there  appeared  some 
three  or  four  years  ago  a  periodical  named  Mélusine,  devoted 
exclusively  to  rolk-lore,  and  edited  by  MM.  Eoland  and 
Gaidoz,  the  latter  the  well-known  accomplished  editor  of  the 
Bevue  Celtigue,  and  a  contributor  to  our  present  number.  A 
correspondent  has  been  good  enough  to  call  our  attention  to 
the  fact  that  our  rough  sketch  of  the  fìeld  of  popular  litera- 
ture  in  the  last  number  of  the  Cymmrodor  so  closely  resembles 
the  plan  on  which  Mélusine  was  conducted  as  to  lay  us  open 
to  the  charge,  or  at  least  the  suspicion,  of  having  derived  jn- 
spiration  from  that  most  interestiiig  periodical,  without  any 
acknowledgment  of  our  obligation.  To  this  we  can  only  say 
in  answer  that  we  were  not  consciously  plagiarising,  and  that 
the  solfì  and  simple  reason  why  Mélusine  was  not  mentioned 
in  the  article  is  that  it  did  not  occur  to  our  mind  while 
writing.  Now,  however,  we  are  glad  to  say  that  any  of  our 
readers  who  may  feel  disposed  to  become  coUectors,  and  may 
be  fortunate  enough  to  possess  or  acquire  (we  think  it  can 


Tiir.  i'olk-loi;e  of  wales.  251 

still  be  obtained)  a  copy  of  Mélusiìie,  cannot  do  better  tlian 
adopt  it  as  a  niodel. 

Possibly,  sonie  readers  niay  be  disposed  to  consider  the 
collection  of  such  things  as  riddles,  etc,  a  proof  of  extreme 
cliildi.shness.  Be  it  so  ;  they  will,  however,  reraember  that 
a  l'lato  did  not  thiuk  it  derogatory  to  represent  "the  wisest 
of  the  Greeks"  as  using  riddles — and  not  very  brilliant  ones 
either — to  illustrate  his"divine  philosophy";  and  that  riddles 
are  found  even  in  the  Bible.  And  what  would  these  critics 
not  give  to  know  the  riddles — for  such,  doubtless,  her  "  hard 
questions"  were — with  which  the  Queen  of  Sheba  tested  the 
wisdom  of  Solomon  ?  Our  Cymric  riddles  are  not  destined 
to  take  such  an  honoured  place  in  the  world's  literature  ;  but 
we  should  not,  therefore,  despise  them.  To  us  they  should  be 
valuable  as  helping  in  their  measure  to  fill  in  the  picture  of 
that  past,  the  traces  of  which  are  disappearing  all  too  rapidly. 
Besides,  these  scraps  have  a  certain  philological  value,  and 
not  unfrequently  contain  words  and  expressions  not  found  in 
the  literary  language.     Cared  doeth  yr  encilion. 

Our  appeal  for  the  co-operation  of  members  has  met  with 
no  very  encouraging  response  hitherto.  We  have  no  obliga- 
tions  to  achnowledge,  except  to  one  member,  the  Eev.  Grif- 
fith  Ellis,  M.A.,  of  Bootle,  who  has  sent  the  foUowing  version 
of  a  well-known  and  widely-spread  legend.  It  is  very  im- 
perfect,  as  wiU  be  observed,  but  it  has  at  least  the  merit  of 
being  given  as  it  dropped  from  the  narrator,  without  any  of 
that  literary  tinkering  which  has  spoiled  most  of  what  has 
been  attempted  in  this  field  hitherto.  A  version  of  tlie  story 
is  given  in  Sike's  British  Goblins,  p.  92. 

"  Hen  wr  oedd  yn  byw  mewn  crefydd, 
Ac  yn  gweddio'n  ddyfal  beunydd, 
Ac  yn  ei  woddi  yr  oedd  dei.syíiad 
Am  un  rodd  o"r  wlad  refol  cyn 
ei  ddiweddiad. 

VOL.  IV.  T 


252  THE   FOLK-LOEE   OF   WALES. 

Ar  foreu  teg  fe  aeth  i  rodio  5 

At  Iwyn  o  goed  yn  agos  ato ; 
Ar  frig  y  pren  fe  glywai  ganu 
O  lais  aderyn  yn  Uawenychu, 

•  ■  •  • 

Ac  yno  bu  nes  tewi  o  hono 

Ac  wedi  ei  dewi  trodd  tua'i  gartref,  lo 

Ond  yno  nid  oedd  dim  ond  pobl  ddieithr. 

Gyna  yn  myn'd  o'r  ty  yma  allan, 
A'r  fath  gyfnewid  sy  yma  'rwan  ; 

Y  tai  a'r  cloddiau  wedi  newid  mewn 

modd  arall. 
Fy  enw  i  yw  Racher  William,  15 

Ac  enw'm  gwraig  yw  Marged  Morgan. 
Atebai  heu  wr  Uwyd  o'r  cornel, — 
'  Gan  fy  nhad  y  clywais  chwedel, 
A  chan  ei  daid  y  clywsai  yntau, 
Ac  ar  ei  ol  y  coíìais  innau,  20 

Fyned  henwr  o'r  ty  yma  allan, 

O'r  un  enw  a'r  un  oedran, 

Na  chlywyd  gair  gan  neb  am  dano, 

Na  gwybodaeth  byth  o  hono.' 
Ac  erbyn  casglu  llyfrau  a  chwilio,  25 

Tri  chant  a  deg  a  deugain  o  íiynyddau, 
Buasai'n  gwrando'r  miwsig  nefol. 
Ac  wrth  hir  ddal  sylw  arno, 
Aeth  fel  dyrnaid  bach  o  ludw." 

Ysgrifenwyd  Awst  25,  1881,  o  enau  hen  wraig  sydd  yn 
ymyl  91  mlwydd  oed,  yr  hon  a'i  dysgasai  gan  ei  mam.  Yr 
oedd  ei  mam  yn  enedigol  o  Landudno.  G.  E. 

The  expression  "  byw  mewn  crefydd"  is  noticeable,  and  seems  to  mean 
"  live  as  a  religieux",  the  hero  of  the  story  being  generally  a  monk. 

"  Racher",  in  line  15,  appears  to  be  for  "  Roger". 

In  lines  17  to  20  we  have  an  adaptation  of  one  of  the  regular  formulse 
with  which  the  couteur  iutroduced  or  closed  his  tale. 


TllE   FOLK-LORE    OF   WALES.  253 


ElDDLES. 

1 .  lîeth  sy'n  dringaJ  y  graig. 
Nid  gwr,  nid  gwraig, 
Nid  marcli  pedolog, 

Nid  \leryn  asgellog  ? 

Atch.     Niwl. 

What  climbs  the  rock — uot  man,  iiot  woman,  not  shod  steed,  uot 
wiiiged  bird  ? 

Ans.    Mist. 

2.  Beth  â  yn  gynt  na'r  gwynt,  yn  gynt  na'r  g'law, 
O'r  fan  ynia  i'r  fan  draw  ? 

Äteb.     Y  Meddwl. 

What  goes  swifter  than  the  \vind,  swifter  than  the  rain,  from  this 
place  to  yonder  place  ? 

Ans.    The  Miud. 

3.  Beth  sy'n  niyn'd  hwy  hwy  wrth  dori  'i  ddoupen  ? 

Atcb.     Pwll  Mawn. 

What  becomes  longer  aud  longer  by  the  cutting  of  both  ends  ? 

A71S.     A  Peat  Fit. 

4.  Beth  sy  dip,  dip,  yn  y  ty,  gnoc  gnoc  yn  y  có'd,  Jo  ho  ar 
y  mynydd  ? 

Ateb.     Gwagar  Sycan. 

What  goes  drip,  drip  in  the  house,  knock,  knock  in  the  wood,  gee  ho 
on  tlie  mountain?  A?is.  A  strainer  (lit.  a  flummery  sieve),  the  riddle 
hinting  at  the  wood  and  horsehair  of  which  it  is  made,  and  the  sound 
accompanying  the  use  of  it. 

5.  Beth  sy'n  cysgu  a'i  fys  yn  'i  lygad  ? 

Atcb.     Eirw'  {i.e.,  Aerwy). 

What  sleeps  with  its  finger  in  its  eye? 

Ans.    A  cow  collar. 

6.  Pwy  fii  farw  cyn  i  i*  dad  gâl  i  eni  ? 

Aicb.     Abel,  neu  unrhyw  un  o  bhint  Adda. 


254  THE    FOLK-LORE    OF   WALES. 

Who  died  before  his  father  was  born  ? 

Ans.    Abel,  or  any  other  of  Adam's  children. 

Of  this  the  following  is  a  more  elaborate  forra. 
7.  Pwy  gâs  i  eni  o  ílân  i  dad,  fu  farw  o  íiân  i  fam,  gâs  i 
gladdu  ym  mola  'i  famgu  ? 

Ateh.    Abel. 


Yeebal  Tasks. 
AU  lansuages  have  a  number  of  these.     In  manv,  some 
of  the  difíìcult  sounds  of  the  language  are  brought  together 
for  the  patriotic  purpose  of  perplexing  foreigners.     One  in 
which  a  succession  of  guttural  aspirates  occurs, 

Hwch  goch  fach  a  chwech  o  berchyll  cochion  bach, 

is  familiar  to  most  of  our  readers.  The  foUowing  we  had 
given  us  in  childhood  by  an  old  shepherd  on  Epynt  in 
Breconshire.  The  task  is  to  pronounce  it  rapidly  without 
any  confusion  of  the  sounds  : 

"  Mae  gen  i  ddwy  wydd  Iwyd  radlon 

Yn  pori  ar  lan  yr  af  on  ; 
Mae'n  nwy  wydd  Iwyd  radlon  i 

'N  rhadlouach  dwy  wydd  Iwyd  radlon 
Na  dy  ddwy  wydd  radlon  di." 

From  the  same  source  we  derived  the  foUowing,  which  re- 
sembles  the  EngUsh  one,  "  Peter  Piper  piched  a  peck  of 
pickled  pepper,  etc".  The  task  was  to  repeat,  nine  times 
without  pausing  to  take  breath,  the  words : 

"  Barcutan  Uwyd  cwta  'n  pigo  pypyr  o'r  cwpa." 


As  oiir  last  slieet  was  passing  througli  tlie 
press,  news  came  of  the  great  loss  the  Society,  and 
the  whole  Welsh  people,  have  sustained  in  the  death 
of  Sir  Hugh  Owen.  As  none  of  his  countrymen 
ever  turned  to  him  for  sympathy  and  help  in  vain, 
so  there  are  but  few  who  will  not  feel  his  removal 
as  a  personal  loss.  A  ready  and  earnest  supporter 
of  every  philanthropic  movement,  he  lahoured  with 
especial  zeal  and  devotion  to  promote  tlie  cause  of 
education  in  ^\"ales,  a  cause  for  M'hicli  he  did  more 
than  any  other  man  during  the  present  century.  The 
shortness  of  time  precludes  our  offering  any  adequate 
obituary  notice  in  the  present  number,  but  we  liope 
to  give  in  the  next  a  sliort  biographical  sketcli  of 
one  in  whom  all  that  had  the  privilege  of  lcnowing 
him,  recognised  a  true  patriot,  an  enlightened  philan- 
thropist,  and  a  consistent  Christian. 


'• 


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ta«l 


DA 
700 
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Y  Cymmrodor 


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